Kaiser study: Average deductibles up 40 percent in past five years

Sept. 22--People with work-based health insurance are paying much bigger deductibles than they used to.

It's the key reason why many Americans haven't felt much benefit in recent years as growth in health care spending has slowed, according to survey results and a report being released Tuesday by the California-based Kaiser Family Foundation.

Health insurance premiums this year are up by about 4 percent, with the annual cost of family coverage in employer plans growing to $17,545. Workers are covering, on average, $4,955 of the premium tab.

The growth in premiums is moderate compared to double-digit annual increases in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now, it's the growth rate in deductibles that's commanding attention.

This year, the average deductible for single coverage is $1,318, up from $917 in 2010, according to the report. During the time period, deductibles for all workers have risen nearly three times as fast as premiums and about seven times as fast as wages and inflation, the report says.

Among all covered workers, 81 percent are in health plans with a general annual deductible -- the amount that must be paid before most services are covered by the plan.

This year, 57 percent of employers are offering health benefits to at least some employees, which is statistically unchanged from 2014, according to the report.

Beginning this year, employers with the equivalent of at least 100 full-time workers must offer health benefits to full-timers that meet standards for value and affordability. Otherwise, large employers face penalties under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Of firms reporting the equivalent of at least 100 full-time workers, 5 percent said they offered more comprehensive benefits this year to some workers who previously were offered a limited benefit plan, while 21 percent said they extended eligibility to workers not previously eligible.

Among employers surveyed with 50 or more full-time workers, 4 percent said they changed some job classifications to part-time so employees would not be eligible for health benefits, while 10 percent reported changing some job classifications to full-time so workers could get coverage.

Four percent said they were reducing the number of full-time employees they planned to hire because of health insurance costs.

Twitter: @chrissnowbeck

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