Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance rose 4% to $15,745 this year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust. While the percentage growth is relatively low, it was higher than the 1.7% increase in wages and a 2.3% inflation rate. And Kaiser noted that since 2002, premiums have soared 97%. “In terms of employee insurance costs, this year’s 4% increase qualifies as a good year, but it still takes a growing bite out of middle-class workers’ wages, which have been flat or falling in real terms,” said Drew Altman, Kaiser’s chief executive. The report also pointed up that workers at lower-wage firms typically shell out $1,000 more each year for family coverage than those at companies that pay better. On average, workers will pay $4,316 annually toward the cost of their coverage, Kaiser said.
via Health insurance costs up 97% in 10 years: report – MarketWatch.