The Health Insurance Burden
October 25, 2008
In Georgia, health insurance, weighs heavily on families. The cost of family health insurance has grown seven times faster then median earnings. This is the input from a new study. Families USA says that the Georgia spread of premiums to paychecks is higher than the national average. The report said that health care costs took a larger amount of the family budget now.
Combined premium of employer and families rose 72.5 percent and median earnings rose only 10.4 percent. The employees share of premium rose 85 percent. Median earnings rose from $25,525 to $28178 in the period from 2000 to 2007. Although premium increases did not rise much more than other states, worker pay rose less than other states creating this situation.
Due to higher premiums, some employers across the country have dropped health coverage. Some have maintained it, but increased deductibles and reduced benefits. Not only are premiums skyrocketing, but so are food prices and gas prices. This compounds the problem. Meanwhile a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that one in three American families had an issue paying medical bills in the past year and this is up from one in four families just a couple of years back.
Almost half reported that a member of the family skipped medication or medical care because of the cost of the treatment.
