Employers are holding health insurance premiums steady, but only by shifting costs to their employees through skyrocketing deductibles, according to a new national survey of employer-sponsored health plans conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The survey found annual premiums rose by just three percent over 2015. However, the research also reveals deductibles have increased by 10 times the rate of inflation over the last five years. Employees in small firms have been especially hard hit, with an average annual deductible now in excess of $2,000 for workers in firms with fewer than 200 employees.
As bad as these numbers sound –- and they can be brutal for a working-class family hit by unexpected health issues –- this situation also might represent the best hope we have for fixing some of the biggest challenges with the current U.S. health care system.
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