Insurance Medical | Workers Paying 14% More For Family Health Coverage This Year, USA

September 6, 2010 – 2:46 am

b4f646f0633b5618e5910c1d011f33f0 250x250 Insurance Medical | Workers Paying 14% More For Family Health Coverage This Year, USA The total amount of employers’ contributions for family coverage remains unchanged, the report reveals.

PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations) enrolled 58% of the covered workers, with average family premiums reaching $14,000 per year in 2010.

Over the last five years workers’ contributions to premiums have risen 47%, while overall premiums have only gone up 27%, compared to average wage increases of 18% and a 12% total inflation.

A significant number of employers have also raised the annual deductibles employees have to pay themselves before their health plans kick in and start paying towards most health care costs. 27% of employees with cover now face deductibles of $1,000 or more, compared to 22% of workers a year ago. 46% of workers in companies employing between 3 and 199 people (smaller firms) are now facing deductibles of at least $1,000.

Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman, Ph.D., said:

With the economy struggling, businesses have been shifting more of the costs of health insurance to workers through premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing. This may be helping to stem the rapid rise in premiums that we saw in the early 2000s, but it also means employer coverage is less comprehensive. From a consumer perspective, the cost of health insurance just keeps going up faster than wages.

Maulik Joshi, Dr.P.H., president of HRET and senior vice president for research at the American Hospital Association, said:

High out-of-pocket expenses and premiums affect health care decisions for patients. If premiums and costs continue to be shifted to consumers, households will face

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