Understanding the Rise in Health Insurance Premiums
<p>Employer-based health insurance premiums increased unexpectedly, according to the widely reported latest Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust Employer Health Benefits Survey. Premiums rose 8 percent for single coverage and 9 percent for family coverage from 2010 to 2011, up from 3 percent for 2009–2010. </p>
<p>Some have attributed the increase to the cost of the 2010 insurance reforms included in the Affordable Care Act. But a <a href="/blog/2011/understanding-rise-health-insurance-premiums">new analysis</a> finds that only 1.8 percentage points of the 8 to 9 percent rise in premiums are attributable to the insurance reforms. </p>
<p>The authors of the Commonwealth Fund–supported study, Jon R. Gabel of the National Opinion Research Center, and Roland McDevitt and Ryan Lore of the consulting firm Towers Watson, outline their findings in a new post on <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=0B67ACA7A5CB453CB876F3DB59E19448&_z=z">The Commonwealth Fund Blog</a>. </p>
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