Kaiser Family Foundation says employers are shifting health care costs to workers
Employers have been shifting health care costs to workers, according to Employer Health Benefits Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.
The survey discovered that businesses still pay at least 70 percent of the total premium, on average, for their workers. But they’re asking workers to chip in more, and that goes beyond increasing the premium contribution.
The average yearly employee contribution toward premiums for family coverage now costs workers approximately $4,000 a year, up 14% from last year. Employees with single coverage are contributing an average $899 annually, up from $779.
Employees are not only paying increased premiums but also higher deductibles. Approximately a quarter of covered workers have a deductible of at least $1,000.
Health insurance in the U.S., unlike other industrialized countries, is for the most part supplied by employers. Some 157 million people under age 65 receive their care through their workplace.
Since 1999, the share of health care premiums paid by employees has increased 159%, while the cost of employer-sponsored health care benefits has grown 138%, according to the study.
Newsflash: If you’re spending thousands of dollars on health care, you’re not spending that money on other things. That’s bad for the economy and needs to be fixed.