The politicians got the conversation onto premiums during the debate on Obamacare and never addressed the underlying costs. I could go on about third-party payors and cost shifting and...
Another day perhaps. Here's U.S. News and World Report:
If current trends continue, health insurance premiums will surpass the median U.S. household income in 2033, a new study says.
Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau, researchers calculated the premiums paid by Americans from 2000 to 2009 and compared them to incomes. They found that insurance premiums rose 8 percent from 2000 to 2009, while household incomes rose only about 2 percent.
If those same rates continue during the next two decades, the average cost of a family health-insurance premium will hit half of median household income by 2021 and surpass it by 2033, the study found.
The median household income was $49,800 in 2009.
The study is published in the March/April issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
The calculations in the study include all premium costs -- including the portion paid by the employer and the employee. What the projections don't include are out-of-pocket costs, such as co-pays for treatments and drugs....MORE
