Missouri health insurance premium jump outpaces U.S. average, study says

[chat_noir]

Missouri health insurance premiums have soared while Missouri incomes remained flat, according to a report released this week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The report, based on a study by the University of Minnesota, said family health insurance premiums for Missourians who have job-sponsored coverage jumped an average of 36 percent between 2001 and 2005. Premiums are the combined contributions of employers and employees.

The premium increase in Missouri exceeded the average U.S. increase of 30 percent during the same period. The average increase in Kansas was 8 percent.

The corresponding increase in median income for U.S. health policyholders was 3 percent during the study period, while the income earned by Missouri policyholders was unchanged. The report did not include income numbers for Kansas because the sample size was too small.

“This study makes plain what every working parent knows — that providing insurance coverage takes a bigger bite from the family budget every year,” Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and chief executive officer of the foundation, said in a release. “As costs continue to go up, fewer people can pay their portion of the premium, and fewer employers are able to offer insurance benefits.”

The report said the average annual U.S. family premium cost — including the employer’s share and the employee’s share of the premium — rose from $8,281 in 2001 to $10,728 in 2005. In Missouri, the cost increased from $7,332 to $9,948. The average cost in Kansas rose from $9,012 to $9,734.
http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/598042.html