Healthcare Insurance Cost Increasing

While the economy is slowly starting to improve, and more people are finding jobs and receiving growth in their wages, the cost of health insurance for many Americans is growing at an even faster rate.  A recent study from the nonprofit group the Kaiser Family Foundation tracked the costs of employer-sponsored health insurance over the years, and showed that the average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 for 2011, which was a 9% increase over the previous year.

This makes experts question whether this is a one time increase or if the rates will be steadily rising over the next few years.  This is a major concern; albeit the economy is improving as mentioned, but unemployment is still hovering around 9 percent.  Many businesses cite the high cost of coverage as a decision not to hire more employees, and individual health insurance is also getting increasingly unaffordable for many Americans.  The cost of family coverage has doubled since 2001, when premiums averaged $7,061.  The rate of increase, until this year, was decreasing – with a rate of the premiums rising 5% in recent years and just 3% in 2010.

What does this mean?  Many employees are waiting to receive healthcare, postponing going to the doctor or the dentist and putting off any expensive procedures.  But insurance companies continue to defend their premiums, saying that when the economy turns around and more people begin to seek out healthcare, their costs will rise.  Some companies believe that these rising costs will end soon, though, for a variety of reasons.  Some companies are even seeking alternatives to help lower the health care costs, including wellness initiatives and on-site medical clinics to offset other doctor visits.  It will be interesting to see if these efforts as well as the changes to the economy truly do change the cost of health care over the next few years.