U.S. health insurance premiums continue to rise
22 04 08 - 13:26
Self-employed insurance premiums rise 18 percent, group health premiums rise 34 percent
04/21/2008
WASHINGTON-Average annual premiums for people buying their own health insurance rose nearly 18 percent between 2002 and 2005, according to new statistics by federal researchers.
In 2002, an American with an individual (non-group) health insurance plan paid an annual average of $3,111. That number rose to $3,664 in 2005-an increase of 17.8 percent. The findings were published in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's latest News and Numbers release.
There were 6 million Americans with individual insurance plans in 2002 and 2005. In both those years, 4.1 million people had single-policy plans whereas 1.8 million people held family policies, according to AHRQ.
Among those under age 65, about 12 million Americans, or 5 percent, were covered by policies purchased in the non-employer market in 2005. That compared to 174 million, or 67 percent, covered by employer-based health insurance, according to the research.
Health insurance costs for employer-based plans saw even more of an increase between 2002 and 2005 than individual plans. The average out-of-pocket premiums for people insured through their employers jumped 34.4 percent from $1,231 in 2002 to $1,655 in 2005.
But the annual cost of non-employer policies are paid entirely out of pocket. The average annual premium for a one-person policy was $2,835 in 2005, up from $2,531 in 2002. Annual premiums for family policies were $5,568 in 2005, up from $4,442 in 2002.
In addition, premiums for non-employer policies differ by age of policyholders. One-person premiums were $1,580 for policyholders under age 40 and $4,288 for policyholders aged 55-64.