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Health Coverage Survey Results
The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust has published their annual health coverage survey. This study is considered the authoritative study on health coverage in the U.S.
Some of the highlights from the survey are:
- premiums for job based health insurance will rise 9.2% this year, on average;
- the percentage of businesses offering health benefits to their employees dropped from 69% in 2000, to 60% this year;
- the cost of health insurance premiums in 2005 will, once again, outpace both the general rate of inflation, and wage growth, for the fifth straight year;
- the average annual health insurance premium for a family of four in 2005 will be $10,880;
- employers offering health insurance will generally pay 75% of this
$10,880, while the employee pays the rest (a full time worker earning the minimum wage will earn $10,712 in 2005); and
- 56% of insured workers are in plans with programs to manage chronic
diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, and hypertension; such patients use
a lot of health care, and are expensive to treat and care for.
In a related story, the Chairman of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, says the
company will spend more on health insurance for its employees in 2005,
than on the raw materials needed to brew its coffee. Starbucks provides health care coverage to employees who work at least 20 hours a week. This year Starbucks will spend $200 million to provide health care for its 80,000 U.S. employees, more than it spends on green coffee from Africa, Indonesia, and other countries.
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