WE ALL KNOW WHERE WE'RE HEADED:

Health Care Costs Climb Moderately, Survey Says (ANDREW POLLACK, 8/21/13, NY Times)

Premiums for employer-provided health insurance have increased by relatively modest amounts this year, according to a new survey, a further sign that once-torrid health care inflation has abated for now. [...]

Premiums have been held in check partly by increasing out-of-pocket costs that workers pay through co-payments and deductibles.

The survey found that 78 percent of covered workers have a general deductible, up from 72 percent in 2012. About 38 percent of covered workers now face a deductible of at least $1,000. At companies with fewer than 200 employees, 58 percent of covered workers have a deductible that large, with 31 percent having a deductible of at least $2,000, up from 12 percent in 2008.

"It's part of what I see as a quiet revolution in health insurance, from more comprehensive to less comprehensive, with higher deductibles," said Dr. Altman, who added that that should appeal to conservatives. "The vision of insurance that they've always favored, with more skin in the game, is the one that's coming to dominate in the marketplace."

Universalize the HSA/high deductible system.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 21, 2013 9:36 PM
Tweet   

Follow @brothersjudd