Health care costs outclimb income in Oklahoma
However, Oklahomans have fared considerably better than those in most states, said Kim Bailey, senior policy analyst for Families USA, which issued the report.
Health care costs outclimb income in Oklahoma
Family health care premiums in Oklahoma rose 2.8 times faster than earnings from 2000 to 2009, according to a report issued Tuesday by a health care advocacy group.
Nationally, premiums that families paid for health care coverage rose 4.9 times faster than growth in median income, Bailey said.
“We saw median earnings in Oklahoma increase more quickly than the national average,” she said. “Your premium growth was substantially lower.”
Outpacing earnings The study uses 10 years of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Labor Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In the period, Oklahoma families’ health insurance premiums rose 69.4 percent while median earnings increased 25 percent.
Along with higher premiums, health care coverage is getting “thinner,” offering fewer benefits with higher deductibles and co-payments, Bailey said.
Meanwhile, the percentage of U.S. businesses offering health care coverage declined from 2000 to 2008 by 6 percentage points - from 69 percent to 63 percent, the study found. Small businesses were the most likely to drop coverage, said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.
“Rising health care costs threaten the financial well-being of families in Oklahoma and across the nation,” he said.
Although Oklahomans fared better than most Americans in the study, the growth rate leaves families’ budgets “pinched,” Bailey said.
“I don’t think anyone would be glad to see their premiums increase so much faster than earnings when it means they’re paying more out of pocket for coverage that’s not necessarily as rich as it used to be,” she said.
Families USA is a nonprofit organization that advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
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