This is hardly news to me but at least it got reported by McClatchey, though I doubt our Cable TV infotainment networks will give a damn about it since it has nothing in it that your large multinational corporations would like you to know about (unlike say, how big the Beckoning really was):
WASHINGTON — An annual survey released Thursday finds that workers are paying, on average, about $482 more for job-based family health insurance this year as companies force employees to shoulder more of the burden of health care costs.
The premium hike, up 14 percent from last year, means that workers are paying nearly all of a $495 increase in the average cost of family coverage this year.
A FOURTEEN percent increase may not matter much if you already receive income in excess of $250,000, but if your income is around the median income of approximately $52,000 that $482 is a big expense, especially since I doubt you received a matching 14% raise in your pay. More than likely, if you still have a job your income level actually declined in either relative or real terms.
But hey, this is America. It could be worse. You could be unemployed. I’m sure that’s what your boss would say if you complained about this rate hike.
By the way, have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!
