Health-Care Premiums Rise 7.7%

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The health-care premiums of employers and their workers have climbed twice as fast as wages and inflation in 2006 — to nearly double their cost in 2000 — and look to rise at a similar clip next year, two nationwide surveys show, the Wall Street Journal reports.


The average family premium rose 7.7% in 2006, marking the third year employer health-care cost increases have slowed since soaring nearly 14% in 2003, according to a 2,122-employer survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. (See the survey’s findings.)


After several years of steady steep rises, the cost for family coverage under an employer health plan is now $11,480, well over the annual wage of a full-time minimum wage worker and beyond what many companies, mostly smaller businesses, and their workers can afford. While 98% of firms with more than 200 workers still provide some sort of employee health benefits, only 60% of smaller companies do. That’s little changed from last year but down from 68% in 2000.



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