Health care premiums jump 9%, fewer workers covered

[Newsjock]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12637561.htm

By Mark Schwanhausser
Mercury News

The cost of health insurance vaulted 9.2 percent in 2005, further pinching workers' pocketbooks and shrinking the ranks of U.S. companies offering medical coverage to their workers. Just 60 percent of companies covered their workers in 2005, down from a peak of 69 percent in 2000.

... But premiums have climbed 73 percent since 2000 -- rising nearly five times higher than inflation or wages. The average annual premium for a family of four in popular health maintenance organizations, known as HMOs, hit $10,880 -- more than the total wages for a minimum-wage worker. The average premium for single workers climbed to $4,024.

Workers paid a record $2,713 for family coverage and $610 for singles. Those who get sick or use care also face higher co-payments, co-insurance rates and deductibles that could push their bills substantially higher.

[raccoon]

1. Maybe one day, if enough Americans who USED TO have

group medical health insurance put pressure on our elected (?) officials, and enough corporations put pressure on them because they are paying for employees' medical insurance, MAYBE the US will have a single payer health plan.

But it would take a lot of pressure; neither Democrats nor Republicans care if 40-something million Americans have no health insurance. And just getting a Democrat in the WH (I hope!!!)
won't do it, no matter who he/she is.

[Verve]

2. I don't know about this?

My husband's small business health insurance premiums are going down. When their outrageous health insurance contract was up a month ago, they did some shopping around. There is beginning to be a lot of competition and some great rates. His company had many great choices to choose from that were substantially lower than what they were paying.

The contract they are considering will save about 25% for the company and give better coverage to their employees for about the same if not less payments out of pocket. I can't wait for it to go through because preventative care will now be covered as well as a better prescription plan.

If you don't like your coverage ask your employer when their contract is up and urge them to comparison shop.

[Newsjock]

3. My company's plan is changing Jan. 1 --

... and to keep the same out-of-pocket cost I have now, I would have to accept a $5,000 deductible and a deeply limited co-pay, only 50% on many parts. They claim it's to encourage employees to "accept more responsibility" for their health. If I stick with the care I have now, my cost is going up somewhere on the order of 25%. If I actually wanted, heaven forbid, a full HMO, my cost would be in the thousands of dollars per year.

And this isn't some podunk fundie-right-wing company, either; it's a reasonably major media outlet.

Now, I almost never use the health care system, only because it's become such a pain in the royal hiney to even access. But I pay these premiums so that, when something truly major does happen, I'm not wiped out for life. That seems to be the reality of George Bush's America -- no room for the weak. Problem is, everyone has a moment of need sooner or later.

[SillyGoose]

4. This is an exploding crisis.

Instead of worrying about gutting Social Security, our leadership should be working on this exploding crisis.

Government employees at the local, federal and state levels already have "socialized" medicine funded in large part by the taxpayers but our leaders seem to think expanding that plan to the american people is a "perk" not to be shared with their fellow american taxpayers. They have theirs and the rest of the public can go screw off. Reminds me of "all animals are equal, except some animals are more equal than others".

Here's another article about this from today's Washington Post:

By Albert B. Crenshaw
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 15, 2005; D02

The cost of health insurance for working Americans climbed 9.2 percent this year, the lowest rate of increase since 2000 but still far ahead of both general inflation and workers' pay increases, according to a nationwide survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

On average, health insurance for a family cost $10,880 this year, with the employer paying $8,167 and the worker $2,713, the survey found. The total cost almost exactly matches the total annual earnings of a person working full time at the minimum wage, the survey noted.
...
At the same time, the proportion of employers providing health insurance continued its steady decline, falling to 60 percent this year from 69 percent five years ago. Most of the decline was among very small companies, the survey found, noting that less than half -- 47 percent -- of firms with three to nine workers now offer medical coverage to their employees.
...
About 160 million Americans obtain health insurance through their employers, making it the predominant mechanism for paying for health care. The remainder buy it themselves or are covered under a variety of government programs such as Medicaid for low-income people and Medicare for the elderly. Roughly 47 million people are uninsured.

(more at link)http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/14/AR2005091400693_pf.html