Uwe Reinhardt, a health-care economist and a professor at Princeton, reacted the same way I did when John McCain declared that the average cost for a health-care policy is $5800 -- we both nearly fell out of our chairs.
It has been more than 20 years since the health insurance policies available to me as a Baptist minister were anywhere near that range. I know from personal experience that McCain's claim is way off base. Reinhardt, however, provides more than anecdotal evidence for the price of health insurance. Here's the money quote from his commentary in today's Philadelphia Inquirer:
According to a highly respected annual survey of employer-sponsored health insurance in America, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Heath Research Educational Trust, the average annual premium for the type of insurance employers provide is $12,600.
That includes the employer's and employee's contributions to the premium, but not the family's out-of-pocket costs, which have been rising steadily in recent years. According to the Milliman Medical Index, based on millions of privately insured Americans, average medical costs for the typical American family when out-of-pocket spending is included are $15,600.
1 comment:
And that's if your healthy!
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