Politics | October 24, 2008 | 9 comments

Health insurance costs outpace wages

source: http://www.webmd.com/news/20081023/health-insurance-costs-outpace-wages

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DeliaTheArtist
Workers' health insurance premiums have shot up more than five times faster than their wages since 2000, adding to an increasingly tight squeeze on family budgets, according to a report released Thursday by a health care consumer group.

The report shows that the average cost of family coverage in the workplace went from $6,672 in 2000 to $12,078 in 2007. That's more than a 78% rise. But at the same time, average wages rose about 15%, according to Families USA, a left-leaning advocacy group.

"People who used to take health care coverage for granted no longer can do so, and they are at growing risk of joining the ranks of the uninsured or underinsured," says Ron Pollack, the group's president.

As health costs rise, employers around the country are moving to save money by cutting back benefits or scaling down their share of premium costs. Still, most Americans still get their health coverage through an employer or the workplace of a family member.

The gap between wages and health costs varies widely between states, Pollack says. But here are some highlights:

* Michigan had the biggest gap. Health insurance premiums rose more than 17 times faster than workers' average earnings between 2000 and 2007.
* Nevada had the narrowest gap. Overall, premiums rose 2.5 times as fast as wages.
* Wyoming workers saw the biggest premium increase in the nation. Premiums rose nearly 130% over the eight years of the study.

Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, an insurance industry trade group, says one reason insurance costs are rising: "There is overuse, underuse, and misuse of health care services."

Zirekelbach also notes: "There are a lot of new and expensive technologies that are being used without proof of which ones work best and which ones are cost-effective.

Other studies show that the growth in private insurance premiums has slowed in recent years. Premiums rose just 5% in 2007, much more slowly than the nearly 14% rise as recently as 2003, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

But Pollack says his group's study shows that workers are facing a "triple whammy." Overall premiums are rising, while workers' shares of those premiums are going up, too. At the same time, the added pressure on employers is forcing them to hold back on wages, he says.

Nearly half of the respondents in a poll released by the Kaiser Foundation earlier this week said they'd skipped some needed medical care because of cost. More than a third said they'd postponed needed treatment, and about a quarter said they'd divided pills, skipped doses, or skipped filling a prescription because of the price.

"People's budgets are being strained in multiple ways these days, and health care is no exception," says Mollyann Brodie, a vice president and director of public opinion and survey research at Kaiser."
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    Politics,   Health,   Money
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9 comments // Health insurance costs outpace wages

  • cantucwearebrothers
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • daledrops
  • Marilynn_Murray
  • DeliaTheArtist
    • 0
      DeliaTheArtist  

    • I happen to have excellent health coverage at my job (knock on wood), but most of my friends do not. It is not that they are lazy or do not work, simply that the jobs they have either do not have health insurance (waiters, bartenders, etc) or have poor health insurance (local store and mall jobs)...These are also the jobs that pay low wages or unstead wages, making it difficult to pay out of pocket for medical costs.

      It's a damn shame to have so many people unable to pay for even the most basic services.

    • 3 years ago
  • maha_aba
    • 0
      maha_aba  

    • How about the fact that I've been paying taxes since my 1st summer job at the age of 14, but don't qualify for government aid/assisted healthcare.

      When I was in college, and too old for coverage under my parents insurance, I applied for government aided healthcare and was DENIED because they said "you are childless and don't have any diagnosed medical history".

      So if i'm lucky i'll get diabetes or hypertension and i'm covered.

      Or if i'm really smart i'll find me a sperm donor, pop out some babies, and i'm covered. Even if i'm an illegal alien, don't pay taxes, and pop out some babies i'm still covered.

    • 3 years ago
  • borymp
    • 0
      borymp  

    • Regardless of who gets in office this term, next term, the term after that... there is not ONE solution that can address the healthcare issues in this country.

      To simplify it: Healthcare is heading in the same direction as the recent economic fall out. And no one is going to pay attention until it bottoms out.

      Government MIGHT be able to put a band-aid on the bleeding wound for a short period of time but nothing is going to stop the wound from getting infected and compromising the entire system.

      Eventually employers are not going to be able to offer healthcare anymore. If they are mandated to offer it regardless of being able to afford it.... it's going to result in major lay offs so the business can afford to insure their employees.

      Healthcare needs oversight more now than ever... just like the housing industry did.

      Healthcare systems have to control costs at every possible level including eliminating all paper processes. Once the industry gets unnecessary spending under control it may relieve the pressure that's building up...but it's not going to solve the harsher realities.

      The Healthcare market is opening up...and pretty soon you're going to lose your PCP and go for an office visit at Wal-mart. I'm not joking. Wal-mart wants to house Triage's and a Physician practice to compete with other healthcare providers.

      But once again...that's not goiing to stop the rising costs.

      The fact that the state of Californina has more MRI machine's than the entire country of Canada should speak volumes enough as to how we regulate healthcare in this country.

      God help us when healthcare bottoms out.

    • 3 years ago
  • huntre
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