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Health care cost have reached
The Breaking Point- 24% Worker health costs will rise a staggering 24% this year, according to Fortune Magazine Tuesday, April 01, 2003 "Health Costs: The Breaking Point" Worker health costs will rise a staggering 24% this year and many companies can no longer afford to pick up the bill. The battle is here. Appearing in FORTUNE MAGAZINE Tuesday, February 18, 2003 By David Stires Rising healthcare costs are causing a stir between companies and workers and, in some cases; employees are taking to the picket lines. At GE and Hershey, workers have staged strikes to protest rising health benefit costs. Across the board, workers are paying more for healthcare -- an incredible 24.2% increase -- while wage increases creep along at 3% to 4%. Employees can each expect to pay $1,753 on average for health insurance and out-of-pocket costs this year, up more than 70% from the $1,014 spent in 1998. Companies say soaring health costs are hurting their bottom lines and competitiveness. They are on average paying 14.8% more for each employee's health-insurance premiums, rising to $4,564 per employee. The figure is expected to again climb this year to $5,134, or 70% more than the $3,062 they spent in 1998. The drama of rising health costs is likely to continue for years to come unless employers address the root cause of rising healthcare costs: the health of their employee populations.
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