Health Insurance References

Premiums for the employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent in 2007, less than the 7.7 percent increase was reported last year but still higher than the increase in workers’ wages (3.7 percent) or the overall inflation rate (2.6 percent), according to the “2007 Employer Health Benefits Survey” released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. The Key findings from the survey were published in the journal Health Affairs.

The 6.1 percent average was increased this year was the slowest rate of premium growth since 1999, when premiums rose 5.3 percent. Since 2001, premiums for family coverage have increased 78 percent, while the wages have gone up 19 percent and inflation has gone up 17 percent.