Modesto Bee: Studies see no relief in health insurance
CAL/AAEM News Service
pottsbri@yahoo.com
Mon, 9 Jun 2003 02:04:09 -0700 (PDT)
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submitted by Dr. Paul Windham
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Studies see no relief in health insurance
By JOHN A. MACDONALD
TIMES-POST NEWS SERVICE
Published: May 31, 2003, 06:53:23 AM PDT
WASHINGTON -- Health care consumers, stung recently by rising insurance premiums and eroding benefits, should not look for relief anytime soon, two new studies say.
The studies project that premiums will increase by more than 50 percent by 2006, that at least 10 million will join the ranks of the uninsured within three years, and that employers will continue aggressively shifting costs to workers.
"The picture in local health-care markets is pretty grim," said Cara S. Lesser, chief author of one of the studies, which was prepared by the nonpartisan Center for Studying Health System Change.
William M. Daley, president of SBC Communications, confirmed Lesser's conclusion. "The present course we are on is unsustainable," Daley said. "Employers can't continue to absorb double-digit increases in health-care spending year after year."
SBC is a member of the National Coalition on Health Care, an alliance of nearly 100 businesses working to improve the nation's health-care system. The coalition prepared the second study.
Health insurance premiums have gone up at double-digit rates for each of the last three years, and the coalition's study projects the trend will continue for at least three more years. Average annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage will increase from $9,160 this year to $14,545 in 2006, the coalition projected.
Dr. Henry E. Simmons, the coalition's president, described most Americans as "apprehensive" about the affordability of health care.
The coalition's study predicted that rising prices will increase the number of uninsured Americans -- now 41 million -- to at least 51 million and as many as 54 million by 2006.
"These increases in premiums will make it more difficult for businesses -- especially smaller or less profitable firms -- to continue to provide health coverage for their employees," the coalition's study said.
A third study, by the Commonwealth Fund, said the rolls of the uninsured are being boosted by a growing number of young adults who lose their coverage immediately after they graduate from college. The problem has worsened over the last decade, the study said, as young graduates have been dropped from their parents' coverage and have not obtained insurance of their own.
Four of 10 young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 can expect to be uninsured at some time during the year after graduation -- twice the rate of adults ages 30 to 64, the study said.
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PREMIUMS
The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health coverage has risen in recent years and is expected to continue doing so through 2006. Numbers for 2003-06 are projections.
2001 $7,053
2002 $7,956
2003 $9,160
2004 $10,717
2005 $12,485
2006 $14,545
SOURCE: National Coalition on Health Care
================================
Brian Potts
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service
MS-IV, UC-Irvine
---------------------------------
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<DIV class=leadheadline>submitted by Dr. Paul Windham</DIV>
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<DIV class=leadheadline>Studies see no relief in health insurance</DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><A class=byline href="mailto:metro@modbee.com?subject=Studies see no relief in health insurance"><BR>By JOHN A. MACDONALD<BR>TIMES-POST NEWS SERVICE</B></A><BR>
<DIV class=navtext><I>Published: May 31, 2003, 06:53:23 AM PDT</I></DIV>
<P>
<DIV class=story>WASHINGTON -- Health care consumers, stung recently by rising insurance premiums and eroding benefits, should not look for relief anytime soon, two new studies say.
<P>The studies project that premiums will increase by more than 50 percent by 2006, that at least 10 million will join the ranks of the uninsured within three years, and that employers will continue aggressively shifting costs to workers.
<P>"The picture in local health-care markets is pretty grim," said Cara S. Lesser, chief author of one of the studies, which was prepared by the nonpartisan Center for Studying Health System Change.
<P>William M. Daley, president of SBC Communications, confirmed Lesser's conclusion. "The present course we are on is unsustainable," Daley said. "Employers can't continue to absorb double-digit increases in health-care spending year after year."
<P>SBC is a member of the National Coalition on Health Care, an alliance of nearly 100 businesses working to improve the nation's health-care system. The coalition prepared the second study.
<P>Health insurance premiums have gone up at double-digit rates for each of the last three years, and the coalition's study projects the trend will continue for at least three more years. Average annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage will increase from $9,160 this year to $14,545 in 2006, the coalition projected.
<P>Dr. Henry E. Simmons, the coalition's president, described most Americans as "apprehensive" about the affordability of health care.
<P>The coalition's study predicted that rising prices will increase the number of uninsured Americans -- now 41 million -- to at least 51 million and as many as 54 million by 2006.
<P>"These increases in premiums will make it more difficult for businesses -- especially smaller or less profitable firms -- to continue to provide health coverage for their employees," the coalition's study said.
<P>A third study, by the Commonwealth Fund, said the rolls of the uninsured are being boosted by a growing number of young adults who lose their coverage immediately after they graduate from college. The problem has worsened over the last decade, the study said, as young graduates have been dropped from their parents' coverage and have not obtained insurance of their own.
<P>Four of 10 young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 can expect to be uninsured at some time during the year after graduation -- twice the rate of adults ages 30 to 64, the study said.
<P>------------------------------
<P>PREMIUMS
<P>The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health coverage has risen in recent years and is expected to continue doing so through 2006. Numbers for 2003-06 are projections.
<P>2001 $7,053
<P>2002 $7,956
<P>2003 $9,160
<P>2004 $10,717
<P>2005 $12,485
<P>2006 $14,545
<P>SOURCE: National Coalition on Health Care </P>
<P>================================</P></DIV></DIV><BR><BR><STRONG>Brian Potts <BR>Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service</STRONG> <BR>MS-IV, UC-Irvine<p><hr SIZE=1>
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