Blog
The Cost of Doing Nothing is Expensive
Washington,
March 19, 2010
Tags:
Healthcare
Under the current broken health insurance system, businesses and middle class families are paying more and more each year. Growth in annual health insurance costs are outstripping average wage increases.
As a result of these crushing health care costs, American businesses are losing their ability to compete in the global marketplace. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have more than doubled in the last 9 years, a rate 3 times faster than cumulative wage increases. Among small businesses, more than one in three workers must spend at least $1000 out of pocket before their health benefits kick in. Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. Health care costs doubled from 1996 to 2006, and are projected to rise to 25% of GDP in 2025. The average cost of an employer-based family insurance policy in 2008 was $12,680, which was nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. |