Another bite out of you
WASHINGTON
- Health insurance premiums paid by workers and their employers rose an average of 6.1% this year, beating inflation and pay hikes and taking a bigger chunk out of families' budgets, a survey reported by the Associated Press found. Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance for the average family topped $12,000 - with employees picking up about 25% of that cost - although the increase in premiums slowed for a fourth straight year. Insurance costs probably will rise again next year, noted the survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a healthcare research organization that annually tracks the cost of health insurance. Many of the more than 3,000 companies surveyed said they planned to make significant changes to their health plans and benefits, and nearly half said they were very or somewhat likely to raise premiums. This year, premiums reached an average of $12,106 for a family of four, with workers paying, on average, $3,281 of that. Premiums to cover a single person cost $4,479, with employees paying $694. The portions both families and single people pay in premiums has nearly doubled since 2001. The companies reported that premiums for families increased 6.1%, on average. That's the lowest growth rate since 1999, when premiums rose 5.3% and cost an average of $2,196 for individuals and $5,791 for families. Health care premiums rose 7.7% last year, when individuals paid an average of $4,242 and families paid $11,480.
