The Facts

• The average cost for health coverage for a family was $12,680 in 2008. That is an increase from $12,106 in 2007 and 27 percent higher than in 2004. As families try to keep up with the rising health costs, their wages haven't. Since 1999, health-care premiums have risen 119 percent while wages for American workers have increased only 34 percent. During that time span, the employee's share of the insurance premium rose from $1,534 in 1999 to $3,354 in 2007.These increases are part of the reason why the health-care system in the United States is slated to spend $2.5 trillion in 2009, which would account for almost 18 percent of our nation's GDP (gross domestic product).
  
  

Significance

• Employers are looking to slash the costs of providing health insurance for their employees. Companies are paying 70 percent of the insurance premiums and their contributions to health care overtook their profits in 2008. In 2007, employers paid more for a family health plan than they did for an employee who worked for minimum wage ($10,712). Employers of small firms are shifting more of the costs to provide health insurance onto their workers. More than 21 percent of small-business employees paid deductibles of $1,000 in 2008, an increase from 12 percent in 2007.
  
  

Effects

• There are 46 million Americans uninsured in the United States as of 2007, a decline from 47 million in 2006. Children account for over 8 million of those with no coverage. Employers are cutting the plans from their payroll as nearly 1.3 million workers lost their health insurance in 2006. In addition, eight out of ten uninsured people come from working families. Families are forced to receive health care and be saddled with unaffordable health bills. In 2007, hospitals provided $34 billion in uncompensated care according to the American Hospital Association.
  
  

Outlook

• Without reform of the health-care system, employers and families face difficult prospects in the near future. Over the next 10 years, employers will pay nearly $2.4 trillion to provide health coverage for their employees. This will cost 178,000 jobs in the small-business sector. Also, small-business workers will lose $834 billion in wages as the owners will suffer a $52.1 billion loss of profit during that span due to health care.
  
  

Warning

• Families who are uninsured face many risks. An illness or injury to a family member could cause serious financial damage. In 2007, over 60 percent of bankruptcies were caused by medical costs and annually over a million and half annual foreclosures are also linked to health care. By having no insurance, families may have to shell out thousands of dollars to pay for medical attention depending on the severity of the condition. Unfortunately, they may also be denied service from medical facilities due to not being insured.