Employees Paying Ever-Bigger Share for Health Care

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/10/business/10CARE.html?hp

People in employer-sponsored health plans are paying 48 percent more out of their own pockets for care than they did three years ago, according to an authoritative new study, and the cost will be even higher next year.

Almost two-thirds of large employers raised the amounts that employees are contributing to the cost of their health plans this year, and 79 percent say they will do so again in 2004, according to the study, by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.

Other health care experts are projecting that 2004 will be the fourth straight year of double-digit increases in health insurance premiums.

The steady climb in costs has made health care benefits a hot issue in labor negotiations this year, and it has put pressure on Congress to reach agreement on adding a drug benefit to Medicare. The sponsors of the study said yesterday that health care costs were also a significant drag on the economy.

[RobertSeattle]

1. I've got mixed feeling about this

When employers pay all the health care costs employees are unaware of rapidly rising health insurance premiums. The more people are aware of this runaway cost increases in the "private" health insurance system, the sooner we hopefully will get to a single payer system instead of this ridiculous system we have now where the insurance company middle men take so much of the money, instead of it going to true health care.

I'll take a government bureaucrat any day over an health insurance company bureaucrat.

[FlaGranny]

2. September is open enrollment in my company.

I just got the new price list. I have what is called POS (Point of Service, I guess). It is $330 for a single which is what I have. For a family, though, the policy is $1000 a month. It's a good policy, but out of pocket expenses can add up to thousands if you are hospitalized. The company doesn't pay for family, but it does contribute to the employees share of the policy cost.

[Starpass]

3. Hopefully (and hubby and I are seeing it happen in our

employer health insurance), that people will now come out of their selfish "I have health insurane at work so don't care" attitude. What is happening is every time a worker gets a raise, it goes to increased contribution for their share of the bill. It's now becoming a big thing to those with good health insurance as it is to those who have none. It's going to take this to get the people finally yelling for a government fix. Oh, and just two years ago the head of Lilly was talking to a group of CEO's (coverd by C-Span) and he said that in 10 years employers were going to get out of the employee health coverage business altogether (and all the CEO's nodded in agreement). He said he had no ideas but said that the government HAS GOT TO GET INOLVED OR IT WILL BE A CRISIS THAT WILL TAKE THIS WHOLE COUNTRY DOWN.

[Nottingham]

4. Well What people don't understand that ultimely ALL are paying

for Healthcare! Corporations and Employess and UnEmployed

We have Medicare & Medicaid but also those people who are paying
out of pockets

So if we all are paying why not GO UNIVERSAL HEALTH!

Its Coming!! :bounce:

[paulk]

5. the constantly rising cost of health insurance

is right of up there with Bush's wonderful "economic recovery" as a reason why so many businesses are doing poorly. Profit margins are low - whether you're a small business or a giant corportation, and when health insurance costs DOUBLE in just 5 years (like mine have), it's devestating.

The govt. needs to get involved. They need to DO SOMETHING. We can't continue down this path and expect a healthy economy - no matter who's sitting in the White House.

[Catshrink]

6. Fred Barnes said there's no healthcare problem in this country

Yeah, I know it's Fred Barnes. This was after the debate last night. He said the candidates described an America no own would recognize. He went into a litany of reasons-- all which showed he had no concept of reality whatsoever. One of them was "there's no crisis in healthcare." Bleeping moron.