Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have risen 7% in 2024

KFF, a health policy research organization, reports annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $25,572, a 7% increase - Photo (c) UnSplash +

The rise matches 2023’s increase

Car insurance isn’t the only type of insurance that’s getting a lot more expensive. The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance has gone up 7% in 2024, matching 2023’s increase.

KFF, a health policy research organization, reports annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $25,572. It says the average worker contributed $6,296 toward the cost of family coverage. The average deductible among covered workers in a plan with a general annual deductible is $1,787.

Over the last five years, premiums have increased by 24%.

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Companies are paying the most

Employers are shouldering most of the financial burden of health insurance. The amount of money employees pay toward health coverage hasn’t changed much during the last five year. It’s risen less than $300 since 2019.

“Employers are shelling out the equivalent of buying an economy car for every worker every year to pay for family coverage,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said. “In the tight labor market in recent years, they have not been able to continue offloading costs onto workers who are already struggling with health care bills.”

The survey found that some of the nation’s largest employers – those with at least 5,000 employees – are taking steps to shield lower-wage workers from the full impact of rising health care costs. Of these jumbo firms, 29% say they have a program to reduce lower-wage workers’ premiums, and 19% say they offer a reduced-benefit plan with more affordable coverage.

Fewer than one in five large employers with at least 200 workers offering health benefits cover Ozempic or other GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, mainly because of the high cost.  

Among large firms that offer coverage of those drugs, 53% have conditions or requirements associated with their coverage. These conditions often include requiring a meeting with a dietician, psychologist, or other professional; requiring participation in a lifestyle or weight-loss program either before or while taking the drugs or another type of condition or requirement.

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