Kaiser Family Foundation Survey: Health Insurance Deductibles Outpacing Salaries

This week the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) released its 2015 Employer Health Benefits Survey, an annual survey of employers that provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and employer opinions.

The research found that single and family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 4 percent this year, continuing a decade-long period of moderate growth. Since 2005, premiums have grown an average of 5 percent each year, compared to 11 percent annually between 1999 and 2005.

The study also found that the average annual premium for single coverage is $6,251, of which workers on average pay $1,071, and the average family premium is $17,545, with workers on average contributing $4,955.

Laurel Pickering, chief executive, Northeast Business Group on Health, and David Lansky, chief executive, Pacific Business Group on Health, weighed in on the research for an article written by Reed Abelson, a reporter for The New York Times.