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Insured Americans Feel Pain Of Rising Health Costs

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The New York Times

Published: May 4, 2008

The economic slowdown has swelled the ranks of people without health insurance. But now it is also threatening millions of people who have insurance but find that the coverage is too limited or they cannot afford their own share of medical costs.

Even many of the 158 million people covered by employer health insurance are struggling to meet rising medical expenses.

With medical costs soaring, the coverage many people have may not adequately protect them from the financial shock of an emergency room visit or major surgery. For some, doctor visits now take a back seat to basic expenses such as food and gasoline.

The problem is most acute for people with no insurance, a group expected to soon exceed 48 million, but those with insurance say they, too, are feeling the pain.

Already, many doctors say, the soft economy is making some insured people hesitant to get care they need, reluctant to spend a $50 co-payment for an office visit. Parents "are waiting longer to bring in their children," said Richard Lander, a pediatrician in Livingston, N.J. "They say, 'The kid isn't that sick; her temperature is only 102.'"

Since 2001, the employee's average cost of an annual health care premium for family coverage has nearly doubled - to $3,300, up from $1,800 - while incomes have come nowhere close to keeping up. Factor in other out-of-pocket medical costs, and the portion of the average American household's income that goes toward health care has risen about 12 percent, and is now approaching one-fifth of the average household's spending, according to the consulting and accounting firm Deloitte.

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