Biden goes after Warren and Sanders on M4A

[Celerity]

4. Total health spending by and on behalf of a family of four with employer coverage tops $22,000, on

average

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/tracking-the-rise-in-premium-contributions-and-cost-sharing-for-families-with-large-employer-coverage/

Total family health spending

Family health spending includes both premiums and the cost-sharing charged when an enrollee uses services. Cost-sharing, or out-of-pocket spending, takes the form of deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, and can vary widely based on an enrollee’s plan and utilization. To look at both premiums and cost-sharing payments together, we added the average family premium for a family of four for those with employer coverage to the average cost-sharing for a worker, spouse and two children. This provides a fuller picture of the impact of healthcare on a household’s budget.

For most of those with employer coverage, the cost of the premium is split between the employer and employee. Looking only at the health spending for which workers are responsible (their families’ premium contributions and cost-sharing payments), the average family spent $4,706 on premiums and $3,020 on cost-sharing, for a combined cost of $7,726 in 2018. This represents an 18% increase in the health costs borne by employees and their families from five years earlier ($6,571 in 2013), outpacing the 8% increase in inflation and a 12% increase in workers’ wages over the same period.



As a result of increases in both premiums and out-of-pocket spending, average combined health spending by families and their employers has grown over time. Over the last decade, health costs incurred by families covered by large employers – including premium contributions and out-of-pocket spending on health services – has increased 67% from $4,617 to $7,726. Over the same decade, average health costs paid on behalf of workers by large employers in the form of premium contributions for family coverage increased 51% from $10,008 to $15,159.

On average, employees of large firms contribute about a third of the total cost of covering themselves and their families (34%), with employers picking up the reminder. In 2018, workers contributed about 20% of the total cost through their families’ premium contributions and an additional 13% in the form of cost-sharing. A decade ago the typical family covered 32% of the total cost of their coverage.



snip