Health insurance per employee, what's it costing them and you?

Health insurance costs have risen and continue to rise each year making it more and more difficult for employers to offer reasonable benefits packages, and for employees to find affordable health insurance. Let's take a look at some scary statistics on health insurance per employee, what's it costing them and you?

How much is health insurance costing employers?
Employer health insurance costs rose by almost 9.5 percent ($7,139) per employee in 2007. The companies that have been hit the hardest are the small ones. It's costing companies with fewer than 50 employees rose by almost 10 percent to $7,251 per employee, while the average cost for companies with more is about $6,598 per employee. With those numbers it seems that companies with more than 50 employees still make it possible for their employees to have health insurance as a benefit, but those with fewer than 50 just can't afford it anymore and are dropping health insurance benefits. Let's see if we can look at some exact numbers to give you a better idea on what you're paying as an employer and what you will pay as an employee for health insurance today.

• As employers have continued to provide health insurance benefits for employees, the costs rose from $1.60 to $2.59 per employee between the years of 1999 and 2005. This was almost a 62 percent in crease in costs per hour.
•  In 2005 employer costs varied significantly from $1.35 to $3.37 per hour per employee. The costs vary because of several different reasons; differences in benefit plans for different companies, cost sharing, premium shares borne by employers, demographic characteristics, differences in employee and dependents, and also geographic differences.
•  In 2005 average employer costs per employee per hour for health insurance rose with establishment size. Which means that the larger the company was, the more generous the benefits offers were.

How much is health insurance costing employees?
Most Americans today have health insurance through their employers, but it is no longer a guaranteed of health insurance coverage. Health insurance is becoming more unstable and more difficult to afford. Companies that offer health insurance benefits have to require employees to contribute a large share towards their coverage. So what's it costing you as an employee to pay for health insurance and to not pay for it?


• There are almost 47 million Americans that don't have any type of health care coverage at all.


•  Almost 70 percent of uninsured employees have families with one or more full time workers and some part time.


•  The average annual increase in inflation has been about two and a half percent while the increase in health insurance premiums that employees are paying has risen about 12 percent.


•  Employee spending for health insurance coverage has increased 143 percent from the year 2000 to the year 2006.


•  Only about 7 percent of uninsured families or individuals can afford COBRA health insurance; premiums for this coverage are almost $700 a month for families, and $250 for individual coverage.


•  Even if you choose to do without employer health insurance your "up front" costs are increasing continually; this is before services are even rendered. Employees can be turned away for even life threatening circumstances if they don't have health insurance or cannot afford to pay up front cash.

What an employee will pay for health insurance will depend largely on what company they work for and how much the employer is willing to pay, so it is difficult to put a number on it.

Health insurance per employee, what it's costing them and you is definitely something to look at as an employer and an employee. Since all health care costs are rising you will have to weigh your options and consider everything before you decide to take it or leave it.

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Categories: Health Care Costs,

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