Employees' Share of Health Plan Premium
Costs Up Dramatically
Excerpted
from: AHRQ News and
Numbers, Released June 8, 2011
As if we didn't know this...
Back in 2005 I paid for all of my employees health care.
There were 9 of us on board, and for those who were on our
insurance, I could afford it.
Today: can't be done without going broke.
New data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
show that employees of private-sector companies contributed up
to 121 percent more in 2009 for their yearly share of their
employer-sponsored health insurance coverage than they did in
2001.
By comparison, the total average annual premium for
employer-sponsored health plans, which includes both the cost
to the worker and to his or her employer, rose at a slower pace
during the same period.
ARHQ's data also showed that the average annual premium
share for workers with employee-plus-one coverage
rose 121 percent—from $1,070 to
$2,363, while the average annual contribution for workers with
family coverage went up nearly 100 percent—from $1,741 to
$3,474.
Workers with single coverage experienced an increase of 92
percent in their average annual share—from $498 to $957.
Here are some
eye-popping and head-shaking
numbers...
Specifically, the total premium increases for the different
categories of coverage were:
•For an employee-plus-one plan—$5,463 to $9,053 (66
percent).
•For a family plan—$7,509 to $13,027 (73.5 percent).
•For a single plan—$2,889 to $4,669 (62 percent).
AHRQ, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, improves the quality, safety, efficiency, and
effectiveness of health care for all Americans. The data in
this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from 2001 to 2009
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a detailed source of
information on the health services used by Americans, the
frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services,
and how they are paid. The data in this report are not adjusted
for inflation.
This data is reported as current as of June 2011
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