WASHINGTON, Jul 24, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The cost of insuring a family of
four with a U.S. employer-sponsored health plan averaged $12,298 in 2008,
government officials said.
A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, showed that the annual premium for
covering an employee and one family member, known as an "employee-plus-one"
plan, averaged $8,535, while the annual premium for a plan that only covered the
employee averaged $4,386.
Almost 20 million of the 62.5 million workers enrolled in employer-based
insurance in 2008 had family plans, while about 11 million had employee-plus-one
plans, the report said. The remaining 31.5 million workers had single-coverage
plans, the AHRQ's 2008 private-industry report also showed that:
-- Nationally, workers enrolled in family plans last year contributed an average
of $3,394 toward the cost of their premiums, compared with $2,303 for an
employee-plus-one policy and $882 for a single-coverage plan.
-- Across all states, workers in Florida contributed the most for a family plan
at $4,412, while Indiana workers contributed the least $2,472; for employee-plus
one plans New Hampshire workers contributed the most and Idaho workers the
least, $3,005 and $1,736 respectively. For single coverage, New Hampshire
workers contributed the most at $1,264 and workers in Hawaii contributed the
least at $451.
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