[jyl]

Main reason is a weak employment market. Companies in some (many) fields don't need to give raises or bonuses to keep employees, so they sure don't need to give "generous" healthcare benefits. When's the last time you quit a job because the medical deductible was too high?

I think companies are also just getting smarter about managing costs. They hire consultants, issue RFPs to health plan providers, push for every bit of savings.

Companies (generalizing here) don't want to provide health insurance, just as they don't want to provide pensions. So defined benefit plans are mostly gone, instead the employee gets the opportunity to save for his own retirement via 401k and maybe the company pays a little match, maybe not. I suspect in 10 years the employer provided health coverage will be going away too. It already is, for many people.