NC Families last 8 yrs: health care premiums inc 74% while average earnings rose 14%:McCrory would recommend 'thinner' coverage & thus more RISK
Note how the Republicans running for office in NC have frequently been gunning for 'thinner' coverage e.g.,"coverage that offers fewer benefits and/or that comes with higher deductibles, copayments, and co-insurance."
******************
WHAT McCrory has stated:
(cut and paste: http://www.ncjustice.org/
assets/library/1304_nchac13oct08.pdf
".....In other words, McCrory would allow insurance companies
to sell health plans that do not meet the minimum standards
currently in place. The theory McCrory is pushing is that
insurance companies could sell cheaper policies that do not
include “luxuries” such as hospital care for pregnant women.
With less expensive options available more people could then
buy health insurance.
But there are several problems with this argument. There is
little evidence that minimum standards add much to the price
of insurance. A recent Massachusetts study concluded that
the net cost of standards adds about three to four percent to
the cost of premiums...."
******************
Premiums vs Paychecks: A Growing Burden for North Carolina’s Workers
Families USA September 2008
(cut and paste):
http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/
premiums-vs-paychecks-2008/north-carolina.pdf
"....Over the past eight years (2000 through 2007)..... On average, health care premiums for families rose by 74.7 percent, while median earnings rose by only 14.0 percent.
In addition to higher premiums, working families faced higher out-of-pocket health care costs,such as deductibles, copayments, and costs for services that were not covered by their insurance plans. As a result, health care costs are absorbing an ever-larger portion of family budgets, and it is clear why many North Carolina families feel worse off economically than they did eight years ago.....
Over the past eight years, North Carolina’s working families have seen their
health care costs go up faster than their earnings. As a result, the cost of health insurance premiums now imposes a greater burden on family budgets than ever before.
....Some employers have concluded that they can
no longer afford to offer health insurance to their workers and have dropped coverage, driving an increase in the number of uninsured workers. The proportion of Americans covered by employment-based insurance dropped by more than 5 percentage points between 2000 and 2007 (from 64.2 percent of adult Americans in 2000 to 59.3 percent in 2007)....
Other employers continue to provide coverage, but they now ask their workers to pay a greater share of the premiums. In addition, a growing share of employers are lowering their health costs by providing “thinner coverage”—coverage that offers fewer benefits and/or that comes with higher deductibles, copayments, and co-insurance.4
******************
WHAT McCrory has stated:
(cut and paste: http://www.ncjustice.org/
assets/library/1304_nchac13oct08.pdf
".....In other words, McCrory would allow insurance companies
to sell health plans that do not meet the minimum standards
currently in place. The theory McCrory is pushing is that
insurance companies could sell cheaper policies that do not
include “luxuries” such as hospital care for pregnant women.
With less expensive options available more people could then
buy health insurance.
But there are several problems with this argument. There is
little evidence that minimum standards add much to the price
of insurance. A recent Massachusetts study concluded that
the net cost of standards adds about three to four percent to
the cost of premiums...."
******************
Premiums vs Paychecks: A Growing Burden for North Carolina’s Workers
Families USA September 2008
(cut and paste):
http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/
premiums-vs-paychecks-2008/north-carolina.pdf
"....Over the past eight years (2000 through 2007)..... On average, health care premiums for families rose by 74.7 percent, while median earnings rose by only 14.0 percent.
In addition to higher premiums, working families faced higher out-of-pocket health care costs,such as deductibles, copayments, and costs for services that were not covered by their insurance plans. As a result, health care costs are absorbing an ever-larger portion of family budgets, and it is clear why many North Carolina families feel worse off economically than they did eight years ago.....
Over the past eight years, North Carolina’s working families have seen their
health care costs go up faster than their earnings. As a result, the cost of health insurance premiums now imposes a greater burden on family budgets than ever before.
....Some employers have concluded that they can
no longer afford to offer health insurance to their workers and have dropped coverage, driving an increase in the number of uninsured workers. The proportion of Americans covered by employment-based insurance dropped by more than 5 percentage points between 2000 and 2007 (from 64.2 percent of adult Americans in 2000 to 59.3 percent in 2007)....
Other employers continue to provide coverage, but they now ask their workers to pay a greater share of the premiums. In addition, a growing share of employers are lowering their health costs by providing “thinner coverage”—coverage that offers fewer benefits and/or that comes with higher deductibles, copayments, and co-insurance.4
posted by Marsha V. Hammond, PhD at 11:53 PM
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