US health-insurance costs are rising more quickly than the ability of US families to pay

[eridani]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-27/u-s-health-premiums-outstrip-income-gains-chart-of-the-day.html

U.S. health-insurance costs are rising more quickly than the ability of U.S. families to pay and the gap is widening, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows that private-insurance premiums for families rose three times faster than median household income over six years, the New York-based non-profit fund said in a report. Deductibles, the amount that policy holders have to pay before insurance coverage kicks in, rose almost five times faster, the fund said.

“Families are being priced out of the market,” said Cathy Schoen, an economist with the fund, in an interview. “The consequences are less adequate insurance coverage, costlier insurance coverage, higher rates of no coverage and growing stress on the family.”

In 15 states, health-insurance premiums are the equivalent of at least 20 percent of median household income for people under 65, according to the report. The data comes from the government’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

[blindpig]

1. What? What? How can that be?

:eyes:

[katnapped]

2. Said families need another job (or three) then

Personal responsibility, people! :sarcasm:

[daa]

3. My brother pays 18 grand for catastrophic coverage

Thank you dems for NOTHING.

[Bandit]

4. No wonder Democrats won't brag about how they "fixed" Health Care

It will continue to get worse and worse. Republicans are outright giddy.

[Vinca]

5. Hey, hey, hey. The box has been checked. Everything is hunky dory.

Watch the sky for a rainbow, follow it to the end and turn the pot of gold over to the insurance company. Bootstraps, people, bootstraps!