Indiana health insurance costs rising faster than pay

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.

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