Something's Wrong When Health-Care Coverage Costs This Much
The rising price of employer-backed plans is a symptom of an ailing system.
Should health care cost as much as buying a new car – every year?
Photographer: John Guillemin/Bloomberg
One of the biggest arguments marshaled against substantial U.S. health-care reform is that Americans – particularly those with employer coverage – fear disruption of their current private plans. Perhaps they shouldn’t be so scared of giving it up, as costs continue to skyrocket and eat into their wages.
A yearly survey released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that for the first time, the average annual cost of family health coverage among employer-sponsored plans topped $20,000 – some 54% higher than it was in 2009. And while employers shoulder most of the burden for family coverage, the $6,015 average employee contribution is 74% higher than it was 10 years ago. That’s far from trivial for low-income families, and doesn’t even cover all their costs.