Health Care Premiums Rose 5.8 Times Faster Than Earnings In Arkansas From 2000 Through 2009

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 18 Aug 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Family health care premiums rose an estimated 5.8 times faster than earnings for Arkansas's workers from 2000 through 2009, according to a report issued by the consumer health organization Families USA. In that 10-year period, family health insurance premiums rose by 87.7 percent, while median earnings rose by only 15.2 percent.

The Families USA report for Arkansas is an update of its original groundbreaking 2006 report, which was the first of its kind to document these changes on a state-specific basis. Among the new report's key findings are:

- For family health coverage provided through the workplace in Arkansas, the average annual health insurance premium (employer and worker share of premiums combined) in the 2000-2009 period rose from $6,355 to $11,927-an increase of $5,572, or 87.7 percent.

- Between 2000 and 2009, the median earnings of Arkansas's workers rose from $20,328 to $23,424-an increase of $3,096, or 15.2 percent.

As the report notes, the disproportionately high increases in insurance premiums have continued despite employees receiving "thinner coverage"-coverage that offers fewer benefits and/or that comes with higher deductibles, copayments, and co-insurance. Other employers have cut costs by placing limits on which employees are eligible for coverage or by eliminating coverage for spouses and children of employees. As a result, Arkansas families are paying more but receiving less in health coverage.

"Rising health care costs threaten the financial well-being of families in Arkansas and across the nation," said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. "If health care reform does not happen soon, more and more families will be priced out of the health coverage they used to take for granted."

An even worse downside of rising costs is the loss of health coverage altogether. Between 2000 and 2008, the total percentage of U.S. firms offering health coverage declined by 6 percentage points-from 69 percent of firms to 63 percent-with small businesses being the most likely to drop coverage.

Another potential catastrophe for families is the possibility that they will join the growing ranks of families filing for bankruptcy because of their medical debts. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, families attempt to balance budgets by dropping phone service, trimming food costs, and going without needed medical or dental care. Despite these desperate measures, however, more than half of all bankruptcies are related to medical costs.

Key findings in the report make clear how the burden of rising health care costs is being shared by employers and employees for both family health coverage and individual coverage. Among those findings:

- For family health coverage in Arkansas, the employer's portion of annual premiums in the 2000-2009 period rose from $4,582 to $8,647-an increase of $4,065, or 88.7 percent.

- For family health coverage, the worker's portion of annual premiums rose from $1,773 to $3,280-an increase of $1,507, or 85.0 percent.

- For individual health coverage, the employer's portion of annual premiums rose from $2,154 to $3,340-an increase of $1,186, or 55.1 percent.

- For individual health coverage, the worker's portion of annual premiums rose from $438 to $830-an increase of $392, or 89.4 percent.

"For America's businesses and families, the absence of health care reform is unaffordable and unacceptable," said Pollack. "It will mean that businesses have a harder time staying competitive, and more and more families have to cope with stagnant wages and the loss of affordable health coverage."

Pollack cited four of the many causes of skyrocketing health care premiums: wasteful health care spending; an almost unregulated insurance market; a dramatic drop in competition in the insurance market; and costs shifted from the uninsured to the insured, termed a "hidden health tax."

"All of these issues can be addressed in a comprehensive reform of our health care system that will allow businesses and families to afford quality health coverage," Pollack said.

The Families USA report is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Source
Families USA

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