Workers Paying More for Health Coverage; Docs Back Public Option and Other Health Care News
As the battle for comprehensive health care reform picks up, here’s a roundup on the latest, including a survey that finds workers are paying more for job-based health care coverage; another survey showing physicians support a public option as part of a health care reform package; and well-reasoned arguments showing why the U.S. House health care reform package is the better bill.
The average family health insurance premium has jumped by 131 percent during the past decade while wages have increased by just 38 percent and inflation by 28 percent, finds the Kaiser Family Foundation’s (KKF’s) annual health benefits survey released this week.
Today, the annual premium for employer-provided health insurance is $13,375, with the employer paying $9,860 and workers footing $3,515 of the premium costs.
As a result, many employers say they plan to cut back health care benefits even more than they already have with higher co-pays and deductibles for workers.
Two Polls Show Public Doesn’t Buy Insurance Industry’s Spin on Health Care
Our continuing series examining health care reform proposals, issues, opinions and surveys today takes a look at what the public thinks about the private insurance industry.
And it’s not good news for the big for-profit corporations that are doing their darndest to roadblock meaningful reform. Two recent polls show the public is not buying what the private insurance industry is peddling.
The AFL-CIO has not endorsed a specific plan but has established certain principles around which any plan should be built (click here for more details). One of the key elements must be a public health insurance plan option—such as the one President Obama is proposing as an alternative to private insurance. The insurance companies and right-wingers have teamed up to try to kill such a plan and convince the public it would drive up their costs, limit coverage and leave millions uninsured.
