Premiums for job based health plans went up only 4 %, a historical low that is put into greater perspective when looking at the average total cost of health insurance and what the employer pays. The average premium is 15,745— but employers only pay around 4,300 of the premium. This is compared to a 9 percent increase in premiums the year before. The survey was conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Overall, “it’s historically a very moderate increase in premiums,” said Drew Altman, who is president of Kaiser, “But even a moderate increase feels really big to workers when their wages are flat or falling.”
Republicans have attacked the Obama administration for failing to manage rising premium costs, and the president responded by a promise to manage health care premiums. However most of the Affordable Care Acts laws don’t go in effect until 2014, including heavy taxes for expensive insurances and a board that strictly monitors insurance premiums. Employer based coverage, which many Americans use to pay for health insurance, stayed stable this year.
