Health “Reform” = Higher Premiums
The Kaiser Family Foundation released their annual survey of health insurance benefits, and premiums, today. The study has historically been released in mid- to late-September, but this year Kaiser apparently decided to issue the survey for the first time while Congress was still in its August recess. (Coincidence? You decide…)
The study contains some interesting findings for the current benefit year:
- Premiums rose by 5% for individuals and by 3% for families in 2010; premiums for single workers average $5,049, and premiums for families average $13,770.
- The percentage of premiums paid by workers for both individual coverage and family coverage rose in 2010 – the first statistically significant increase in that figure for more than a decade.
- Single workers are now paying an average of $899 per year in premium contributions – an increase of $120, or more than 15%, from $779 in contributions last year.
- Likewise, family contributions rose from $3,515 to $3,997 – an increase of nearly $500, or nearly 14%.
Candidate Obama famously promised to reduce family premiums by up to $2,500 “by the end of my first term as President.” But this morning’s study, like many before it, only further illustrate candidate Obama’s rhetoric from the reality of the bill President Obama signed. Mandates being implemented over the next several years will raise the cost of insurance, and the uncertain environment has encouraged businesses to raise their workers’ share of premium increases in anticipation of higher costs – and higher taxes – yet to come. When will Democrats finally admit to the broken promises and destructive effects of their unpopular government takeover of health care?
The full report – including information on cost-sharing, employer wellness programs, the growth of HSAs and consumer-directed health plans – can be found here. A summary is available here, along with a separate Health Affairs article summarizing the findings. Charts can be found here.