NFIB

New Health-Care Study Released
08/22/2007

Results show costs increasing faster than wages

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released results from a study focusing on the rapidly growing cost of health care in the United States. For more than a decade, we have fought for better access to affordable, quality health care for small-business owners, their families and employees, and the findings of this study emphasize that this need still exists. 

Confirming what NFIB and small-business owners have been saying for years, the study reported that "health-insurance-premium increases consistently outpace inflation and the growth in workers' earnings." While premiums have increased between 8 and 14 percent each year since 2000, inflation and wages have been approximately 3 to 4 percent—meaning each year, businesses and workers are spending more and more of their income just to keep their health insurance.

Results also found that health-insurance premiums for family coverage rose 87 percent—more than four times the growth of wages—from 2000 to 2006.

Other highlights of the study include:

For 40 years, the growth of health-care spending has exceeded the growth of the economy.

Approximately 55 percent of total health-care expenditures are paid for by private funds.

Each year, more than $6,500 per person is spent on health care in the United States.

More than 50 percent of health-care spending goes to hospital care and physician services, and 10 percent is spent on prescription medications.

The United States spends much more on health care than other developed countries do (U.S. spending in 2004 was 13 percent more than the next highest-spending country, and about 90 percent more than the spending of several other countries we consider "global competitors").

 

We know that no single solution will help alleviate the burden of skyrocketing health-care costs, but is committed to working with Congress to take a multi-faceted approach. Visit NFIB.com/healthcare for more information on how we're advocating on behalf of small business for a better health-care system.