Report Examines Effect Of Changes In Wages And Benefits On Health Care Payments

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 14 Feb 2008 - 10:00 PDT

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"Wages and Benefits: A Long-Term View," Kaiser Family Foundation's Snapshots: Health Care Costs series: The report examines changes in wages and benefits since the 1960s and concludes that one way working families might be feeling the impact of rising health care costs is through smaller increases in their paychecks. The Snapshot focuses on the increase in health insurance costs paid by employers and changes in the size of health care expenses compared with wages, other benefits and the national gross domestic product. Total compensation -- wages plus benefits -- as a share of GDP has remained fairly stable during the period, with wages consistently the largest component of worker compensation. However, average health benefit costs paid by employers have increased from 0.6% of GDP in 1960 to 4.1% in 2006. The online series uses charts, data and analysis to look at key issues affecting the cost of health care in the country (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 2/12).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.