Workers paying more health care costs

Workers continue to pay higher health care costs as the cost of family health care coverage is averaging $4,000 this year. The 2010 Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust indicates an increase of 14% or $482 above what workers paid last year. The total premiums for family coverage in 2010 rose 3% to an average $13,770. The amount employers contribute for family coverage did not increase. Since 2005, workers’ contributions to premiums have increased 47%, while overall premiums increased 27%, wages rose 18% and inflation went up 12%.
Preferred Provider Organizations continue to be the primary health care program covering 58 percent of workers. The average PPO family premiums have reached $14,000 annually.
Many companies are also raising the annual deductibles their employees must pay before their health plans begin to share most health care costs. 27% of covered workers are now paying annual deductibles of at least $1,000, an increase of 5% from last year. For small companies with 3-199 employees, 46% of workers are paying these deductibles.

Pictured: Workers on average are paying nearly $4,000 this year toward the cost of family health coverage, which is an increase of $482 above what they paid in 2009, according to the 2010 Employer Health Benefits Survey.