Health insurance jumps

WASHINGTON – Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums rose 11.2 percent this year, registering the fourth consecutive double-digit annual increase and pushing the cost of family coverage under the most common type of plan past $10,000, according to a new nationwide survey.

While this year’s rise was down slightly from the 13.9 percent of last year, it is still “five times the rate of growth in wages (and of) inflation,” said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which along with the Health Research and Educational Trust, released the survey Thursday.

The unceasing rise will depress wages, affect hiring decisions and encourage outsourcing, he said. The number of uninsured will continue to rise, while the cost shouldered by workers fortunate enough to have insurance will also climb, putting greater pressure on family budgets, Altman said.

The percentage of all workers who have health insurance through their employers continues to slip, with 5 million fewer jobs offering health insurance now than in 2001, Kaiser said. Although this year’s decline was slight – to 61 percent from 62 percent in 2003 – the drop from the peak of 65 percent in 2001 is “significant,” Kaiser said.

Overall, the average cost of health care coverage for a family is $9,950 ($3,695 for a single worker) this year, the survey found. Health maintenance organizations are the least expensive type of plan at $9,504 a year for family coverage and $3,458 for single coverage. Preferred provider organizations, which are the most common type of plan and cover 55 percent of workers who have health care, are the most expensive. PPO family premiums average $10,217, while single coverage is $3,808.

Among all plans, workers on average pay $2,661 of the $9,950 annual cost for family coverage and $558 of the $3,695. In HMOs, workers pay $2,674 for family coverage and $552 for single, on average. In PPOs, the figures are $2,691 and $573.

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