Saturday, September 26, 2015

OBAMAmess: Health Insurance Deductibles Outpacing Wage Increases, Study Finds

It may not seem like much — just an extra hundred dollars or so a year.
But the steady upward creep in health insurance deductibles has easily outpaced the average increase in a worker’s wages over the last five years, according to a new analysis released on Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Kaiser, a health policy research group that conducts a yearly survey of employer health benefits, calculates that deductibles have risen more than six times faster than workers’ earnings since 2010.
“It’s a very powerful trend,” said Drew Altman, Kaiser’s chief executive.
Four of five workers who receive their insurance through an employer now pay a deductible, in which they must pay some of their medical bills before their coverage starts, according to Kaiser.
Those workers’ deductibles have climbed from a yearly average of $900 in 2010 for an individual plan to above $1,300 this year, while employees working for small businesses have an even higher average of $1,800 a year. One in five workers has a deductible of $2,000 or more.
Beth Landrum put off getting an M.R.I. that her 
doctor had recommended after the deductible on her
 family’s health plan increased to $3,300 a year. NYT
The nation’s largest health insurers are engaged in a round of consolidation, and consumer advocates worry that the mergers will result in even higher costs for coverage. A Senate hearing on Tuesday scrutinized the merger plans.
While the Kaiser survey examines plans provided by employers, Mr. Altman said many of the insurance policies being sold under the federal health care law through the state exchanges also rely on high deductibles to keep premiums low. Some employers also increased their deductibles to reduce the higher costs associated with the law.
The law may be prompting even more changes by companies, in order to have workers shoulder more of their medical costs.
Read the rest of the story HERE and follow links to related stories below:

Health Premiums Have Climbed $4,865 Since Obama Promised to Cut Them $2,500

Employer Health Coverage for Family Tops $17,000

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