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Although the health insurance prices did not increase very much in the last few years, this was not a reason of joy for consumers. Even though the premiums –meaning what companies and employees pay in order to get health insurance – have been increasing at a low speed, the deductibles are rising rapidly.
Those increases, which must be paid before the insurance becomes operative, mean that people must pay an extra cost from their own pockets, according to a report made by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.
The decrease in healthcare prices is barely felt by the consumers, Kaiser Foundation chief executive officer Drew Altman declared.
The report also highlights that the health insurance premiums had an increase of only 3,8 percent during this year, with employees having to pay 1,071 of the average $6,251 cost. Concerning deductibles, they rose almost 9 percent, with workers having to pay an average of $1,077 per year.
This trend became powerful in the last 5 years. Beginning with 2010, deductibles are up 67 percent, compared to premiums, which are up 24 percent. On the contrary, the workers’ earnings increased with only 10 percent, as it was revealed by Kaiser’s analysis on the data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bigger deductibles have two interconnected reasons. Employers try to lower the costs for themselves, thus forcing the workers to pay. The workers, on the other side, having to pay more, tend to use the medical facilities less.
Obamacare is another reason for costs’ shifts. Starting with 2018, The Affordable Care Act will fine the expensive health plans with what’s entitled a “Cadillac tax.” This will represent a 40 percent tax on individuals having premiums over $10,200.
“If the Cadillac tax goes into effect, we’re likely to see a spurt,” Drew Altman, Kaiser Foundation chief executive officer, says.
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