“This year, the average premium for a family hit $15,073,” reported Forbes contributor Sally Pipes in her most recent article for the magazine. Pipes, who is also president, CEO, and Taube Fellow in Health Care Studies at the Pacific Research Institute, wants the public to bear in mind that the new number represents a $1,303, or 9%, increase from that of 2010.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, who is responsible for the research behind the 2011 average, also noted that health insurance rates were up 5% in 2009 and up 3% in 2010. What’s worse? The Pipes article suggests that there really is no relief in sight.
According to a recent study by the National Business Group on health, employers expect premiums to rise 7.2% by 2012, and Kaiser Family Foundation says that we can expect to see health insurance premiums double within the next decade. To offset costs, according to Kaiser, 50% of employers will need to shift greater shares of health insurance costs to employees.
Pipes believes that ObamaCare is to blame for the continuing rise in health benefit costs to both employers and their employees. “ObamaCare drives up the cost of insurance by piling mandates and required coverage benefits onto every single policy,” she notes.
Whether for or against the new healthcare mandates, with premiums on the rise and an ever changing industry, employers will have to continue to do a great deal of homework when it comes to shopping for business health insurance coverage and managing employee benefits.
Report by Melissa Cenker
Any opinions expressed within this and all posts are the opinions of the third parties quoted and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Princeton HR Solutions, Melissa Cenker, or Melissa Cenker Consulting