Health Insurance Premium Increases Outpace Wages – Say Ahhh! A Children’s Health Policy Blog

  • Employer-based health insurance costs have increased three times faster than wages since the beginning of the decade.
  • About 62% of those under age 65 live in a state where average health insurance premiums exceed 20% of the median income.

  • In 2010, the average total premium for a family of four was $13,871, an increase of 50 percent over the past seven years. 

  • If premium trends continue at the rate prior to enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the average premium for family coverage will hit $24,000 by 2020 – a 72% increase.
These points all came  from the Commonwealth Fund’s latest report on health insurance premiums. Those familiar with the annual report know that it also offers very helpful tools for groups to look at state-level data such as the interactive map showing employer-based health insurance premiums as a percentage of median household income.  
For a quick look at how premiums have increased in your state, here’s a graphic that shows a comparison between 2003 and 2010.
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