WP: Health Insurance Costs Keep Rising

[DeepModem Mom]

Health Insurance Costs Keep Rising
Premiums for Employer-Sponsored Plans Grew by 11.2%, Survey Finds

By Albert B. Crenshaw
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 10, 2004; Page E01


Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums rose 11.2 percent this year, registering the fourth consecutive double-digit annual increase and pushing the cost of family coverage under the most common type of plan past $10,000, according to a new nationwide survey.

While this year's rise was down slightly from the 13.9 percent of last year, it is still "five times the rate of growth in wages inflation," said Drew E. Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which released the survey of more than 3,000 employers yesterday, along with the Health Research and Educational Trust. Its findings and those of other surveys predict continuing growth of health care costs next year.

The unceasing rise will depress wages, affect hiring decisions and encourage outsourcing, Altman said. The number of uninsured will continue to rise, while the cost shouldered by workers lucky enough to have insurance will also climb, putting greater pressure on family budgets, he said.

The percentage of all workers who have health insurance through their employers continues to slip, with 5 million fewer jobs offering health insurance now than in 2001, the Kaiser survey said. Though the decline in workers who have health insurance through their own employers was slight -- the number fell to 61 percent this year from 62 percent in 2003 -- the drop from the peak of 65 percent in 2001 is "significant," Kaiser said. The share of workers at small firms -- those with three to 199 workers -- getting health insurance declined to 50 percent from 58 percent in 2001....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8287-2004Sep9.html

[ClintonTyree]

1. Hey................

this is GOOD for America and the Economy, didn't you get the memo? Nothing to see here, move along.............

[cthrumatrix]

4. Uncle FU Dick says healthcare costs "dont matter"...raygun told us

[area51]

2. As the republinazi media sometimes mentions,

This is feeding the offshoring frenzy and keeping people unemployed. We need our tax $ used wisely, & that means universal healthcare, not bloated military/perpetual war.

[llmart]

3. We're always bragging about our status as the "wealthiest country"..

but we're slowing slipping to 3rd world status. There's a great article in the latest issue of Utne magazine with statistics showing how the US compares to other countries and the European Union economically. Go to your local library or buy a copy and read it (or maybe it's online - I haven't checked)and use the statistics as talking points.