Premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance increased an average of 41 percent across states from 2003 to 2009, more than three times faster than median incomes, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. Yet, insurance is buying less. The report found that deductibles per person rose 77 percent, on average.
The report presents a state-by-state analysis of private employer health insurance costs for the six years before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed, and projects premiums in 2020 if these increases continue. View an interactive map showing a state-by-state view of health insurance premium increases.
"Whether you live in Montana, Texas, or New York, private insurance costs have been increasing faster than working family incomes," said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, lead author of the study. "For more than a decade, families with job-based insurance have been sacrificing wages to hold on to health insurance. The good news is that the Affordable Care Act reforms provide a foundation to improve coverage and slow health care cost growth in the future."
An audio file of Cathy Schoen discussing the report is available; you can also read a blog post on the findings.
