The California HealthCare Foundation has released two excellent reports examining individual health insurance and employer-based health insurance in California, comparing costs and access to other states, and assessing how employers and individuals make decisions regarding insurance.
The reports, part of the ongoing research of the Foundation, were based on work done by the Center for the Study of Health System Change, a D.C.-based organization known for its excellent work at the national level.
Highlights (term loosely applied) include:
—premium increases doubled the overall inflation rate, with the latest figures at 8.2% compared to a 3.9% overall inflation rate in CA
—monthly premiums averaged $858 for families and $321 for individuals
—PPOs cost more in California than the national average, with HMO pricing lower
–70% of large employers are likely to raise employee contributions in 2006
–providing more and better access to information about individual health plans can have just as much impact as subsidizing premiums.
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