Annual Family Premiums for Employer Coverage Average $22,463 This Year (KFF)
Many of you who are involved with VIM may also know of The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). KFF is a prominent foundation that focuses on major health care issues facing the nation, as well as U.S. role in global health policy.
KFF recently released its 24th annual survey of employers, which provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage. The 2022 survey of more than 2,000 non-federal public and private firms is linked, here.
The 2022 study did not reveal any significant changes in the year-to-year comparisons, although the actual costs were eye-opening. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $22,463 this year, with workers on average paying $6,106 toward the cost of their coverage. The average deductible among covered workers in a plan with a general annual deductible is $1,763 for single coverage. The overall trends continue to be alarming.
For example:
The average premium for family coverage has increased 20% over the last five years and 43% over the last ten years.
Among workers with single coverage and any deductible, the average deductible amount has increased 17% over the last five years and 61% over the last ten years.
For the eighty-eight percent of workers with single coverage and a general annual deductible, the average deductible amount has increased 17% over the last five years and 63% over the last ten years.
Workers at smaller firms on average pay nearly $2,000 more out of pocket toward family coverage than workers at larger firms. They also face general annual deductibles that are $1,000 higher on average.
These interesting statistics are discussing dollars, not people. VIM exists because behind every unaffordable premium is a working person – often a single mother, for example – who simply can’t afford to accept the offer of insurance, even when it’s available at their workplace. ALL of VIM’s patients work – at least twenty hours per week. But all of them also make modest salaries. If they must choose between a copay and a grocery bill – well, they must feed their children first... I’m sure you would do the same.
Today, we appreciate the KFF for helping us understand why, without VIM, these people – our friends, coworkers, and daily helpers – would simply go without the care and medicines they need to live healthy lives.