Report: CT family premiums rising 8.2X faster than earnings

A new report by Families USA finds that from 2000 to 2007, family health insurance premiums in CT rose from $7,292 to $13,173 (80.7%) while CT family median earnings rose only 9.9%. Employees’ share of premiums rose even more – 10.5 times faster than earnings. Individual coverage grew by 52.8% during those years, and employees’ share grew by 73.1%. CT had the third worst disparity between health insurance premiums and earnings. The report doesn’t address the increasing burden on families of rising co-payments, coinsurance and the costs of benefits no longer covered by employer sponsored insurance. Wall Street’s problems will fall hard on CT, and with unemployment already at 6.5 % (above the US average of 6.1%) it is likely that the gap between premiums and earnings will only grow this year.
Ellen Andrews