Call Us - We're Easy to Talk To (214) 999-9999

Workers’ Health Insurance Costs Soar

Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times had a good article on the outrageous cost of health insurance, especially relative to inflation. As a small-business owner, I struggle with this issue every year. Each time we come up for renewal, I am forced to increase our deductibles or reduce our benefits in order to keep the costs of premiums at a manageable level. I blame both the health insurance carriers for these increases and the health providers for increasing their fees at a much greater rate than inflation in general. Here are excerpts:

If gas and milk price hikes seem steep, check out health insurance premiums. They have increased 10 times faster than incomes in recent years, a study shows.

Workers with job-based coverage for their families saw earnings rise 3% from 2001 to 2005, while their health insurance premium contribution increased 30%, according to the study by researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota.

The average cost nationally of family coverage during the period increased nearly $2,500, to $10,728 from $8,281. The average cost for job-based family coverage in California increased more than $2,650, to $10,551 from $7,898.

Between 2001 and 2005, more than 30,000 of the 3.6 million private-sector employers offering health insurance as a benefit to workers dropped it.

As a result, the number of people in private-sector jobs that offered health insurance benefits declined by more than 4 million, and the number of people with private insurance fell by 2.4 million, or 6%, the study found.

Bob Kraft

I am a Dallas, Texas lawyer who has had the privilege of helping thousands of clients since 1971 in the areas of Personal Injury law and Social Security Disability.

About This Blog

The title of this blog reflects my attitude toward those government agencies and insurance companies that routinely mistreat injured or disabled people. As a Dallas, Texas lawyer, I've spent more than 45 years trying to help those poor folk, and I have been frustrated daily by the actions of the people on the other side of their claims. (Sorry if I offended you...)

If you find this type of information interesting or helpful, please visit my law firm's main website at KraftLaw.com. You will find many more articles and links. Thank you for your time.

Find us on your preferred network