The state of Indiana, the first state in the nation to pass legislation to pass legislation with Health Savings Accounts as the main vehicle to the insured, has been hit by rising health care costs and wages aren’t able to keep up.
Wages are failing to keep up with escalating health insurance premiums being paid by Hoosier families, while insurance companies are offering less coverage, according to a new report.
Premiums for employer-based health insurance in Indiana rose 83.4 percent from 2000 to 2007, compared with a jump of only 11.4 percent in workers’ wages over that time, according to the analysis released Tuesday by consumer advocacy group Families USA. That means the prices of premiums rose 7.3 times faster than workers’ pay.
The costs are only going to continue to rise and one can imagine that wages won’t be able to keep up. A solution? How about Health Savings Accounts?
Steve Gregory, director of business development for Indianapolis insurance broker DeTrude and Co., said he expects premiums for employer-based coverage to rise roughly 7 to 9 percent for 2009.
Those increases, he said, come even as many businesses have had to give workers no or small raises because of the tough economy.
In response, Gregory said some employers are looking to keep premiums affordable by switching to high-deductible plans. With many high-deductible accounts, people may put money in a tax-free health-savings account to pay for medical expenses.
Tags: health care costs, Indy Star
Tags: health care costs, Indy Star
