WORST "BUT" EVER:

Growth in overall health-care spending is slowing, but middle-class families' share of the tab is getting larger, squeezing households already feeling stretched financially. [...]

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a health-care research nonprofit, found deductibles for individual workers have soared in the past five years, rising 67% since 2010 without adjusting for inflation, roughly seven times earnings growth over the same period. A separate Kaiser analysis of tens of millions of insurance claims found patient cost-sharing rose by 77% between 2004 and 2014, driven by a 256% jump in deductible payments.

"The growth in deductibles for workers shows no sign of slowing," said Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the foundation. "What consumers have been paying has been going up much faster than wages. Even people who are insured are having problems paying medical bills."

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