Dramatic increases in the workers’ share of health insurance costs actually led to fewer people accepting insurance coverage from their employers, it was according to a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Individual insurance premiums in Louisiana jumped nearly 43 percent from 1999 to 2003, even after adjusting for inflation, the study shows. Meanwhile, the percentage of the people who got health coverage through their employer fell to 75.6 percent in 2003, compared to 82.8 percent in 1998.

“Shifting Ground: Changes in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance” was released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan, nationwide effort to urge U.S. leaders to make health insurance for Americans their top priority.