WASHINGTON — Credit unions are hardly alone in the struggle to cure ailing health insurance costs. The attached charts and the figures below are from the National Coaltion On Health Care and offer a big-picture look at the cost of health care.
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- Premiums for employer-based health insurance rose by 5% in 2008. In 2007, small employers saw their premiums, on average, increase 5.5%. Firms with less than 24 workers, experienced an increase of 6.8%.
- The annual premium that a health insurer charges an employer for a health plan covering a family of four averaged $12,700 in 2008. Workers contributed nearly $3,400, or 12% more than they did in 2007. The annual premiums for family coverage significantly eclipsed the gross earnings for a full-time, minimum-wage worker ($10,712).
- Health insurance expenses are the fastest growing cost component for employers. Unless something changes dramatically, health insurance costs will overtake profits by the end of 2008.
- The average employee contribution to company-provided health insurance has increased more than 120% since 2000. Average out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance for physician and hospital visits rose 115%.
