Survey: Employer-sponsored premium rate growth slows

Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual national survey of employers found that the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage rose 4 percent in 2013, to $16,351(Source: “Health Care Costs Climb Moderately, Survey Says,” New York Times, Aug. 21, 2013). 

According to the survey, annual premiums for individual policies purchased through an employer rose 5 percent, to $5,884.

While still far outpacing inflation or increases in wages, the 4 percent increase is significantly lower than the roughly 10 percent annual increases experienced a decade ago.

“If you are comparing it to 10 years ago in health care, it seems modest,” said Helen B. Darling, chief executive of the National Business Group on Health, which represents large employers. “If you compare it to the economy and what inflation is doing, I don’t think it’s modest at all.”

The findings of the survey are particularly significant because employer-sponsored plans are the source of coverage for most Americans. About 50 percent of Ohioans get coverage through their work, compared to about 30 percent that receive public health insurance and 5 percent that obtain coverage in the individual market.