Pennsylvania is among the leaders in the percentage of employers providing health-care coverage, but it is losing that advantage.

A new report by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., says 70.2 percent of Pennsylvanians had employer-provided coverage in 2006-07, down 5.7 percentage points from six years ago. That compares with a 4.7 percentage point average decline nationally.

Although still ranked 11^th among states for its rate of employer-provided coverage, only Michigan had more residents who have lost coverage since 2000.

The EPI report says the number of Pennsylvanians with coverage provided by their employer fell from 7.92 million in 2000-01 to 7.37 million in 2006-07. Also, 201,956 fewer Pennsylvania children have employer health coverage, a 7 percent drop compared with a 5.6 percent drop across the United States.

EPI economist Elise Gould said she expected that decline to continue.

"The health-care problem has reached a critical level," she said in a news release. "Bold new solutions need to be considered to address the growing crisis."

The Keystone Research Center noted that the EPI report comes out the same week the Pennsylvania Senate adjourned without acting on a plan to offer low-cost insurance to small businesses and individuals, called the Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care. It was approved by the House in March.

While employer-provided coverage is down, the EPI saw an increase in the number of people under age 65 with health coverage, due to public insurance programs such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The report also found that, nationally, the number of uninsured workers has grown by 4.1 million, and that about 45 million people under age 65 have no health insurance.