Workers on average are paying nearly $4,000 this year for family health coverage – an increase of 14 percent, or $482, over last year, according to a new study.
The 2010 Employer Health Benefits Survey, released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust, found the jump in premiums occurred even though total premiums for family coverage – including what employers contribute – rose only 3 percent to $13,770 in 2010.
Preferred Provider Organizations continue to dominate the employer market, enrolling 58 percent of covered workers. Average PPO family premiums topped $14,000 annually in 2010, according to the study.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, since 2005, workers' contributions to premiums have gone up 47 percent, while overall premiums rose 27 percent, wages increased 18 percent and inflation rose 12 percent.
Many employers are also raising the annual deductibles workers must pay. Twenty-seven percent of covered workers now face annual deductibles of at least $1,000, up from 22 percent in 2009, the survey found. Among small firms (three to ,199 workers), 46 percent face such deductibles.
"With the economy struggling, businesses have been shifting more of the costs of health insurance to workers through premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing," Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman said. "This may be helping to stem the rapid rise in premiums that we saw in the early 2000s, but it also means employer coverage is less comprehensive."
Maulik Joshi, president of HRET and senior vice president for research at the American Hospital Association, said that from a consumer perspective, the cost of health insurance keeps going up faster than wages.
"High out-of-pocket expenses and premiums affect healthcare decisions for patients," he said. "If premiums and costs continue to be shifted to consumers, households will face difficult choices, like forgoing needed care or re-examining how they can best care for their families."
The survey was conducted between January and May of 2010 and included 3,143 randomly selected, non-federal public and private firms with three or more employees.