Figure A Version 4
For workers, fast-rising insurance premiums are consuming dollars they they could have spent on nonhealth-care goods and services: Average annual earnings for the bottom 90 percent and premiums for employer-sponsored health care plans, 1999–2016
| Year | Bottom 90% earnings | Earnings available for spending had health premiums not risen (single premiums) | Earnings available for spending had health premiums not risen (family premiums) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 22,651 | 24,847 | 28,442 |
| 2000 | 23,854 | 26,325 | 30,292 |
| 2001 | 24,636 | 27,325 | 31,697 |
| 2002 | 24,989 | 28,072 | 32,992 |
| 2003 | 25,572 | 28,955 | 34,640 |
| 2004 | 26,255 | 29,950 | 36,205 |
| 2005 | 26,994 | 31,018 | 37,874 |
| 2006 | 28,055 | 32,297 | 39,535 |
| 2007 | 29,079 | 33,558 | 41,185 |
| 2008 | 30,042 | 34,746 | 42,722 |
| 2009 | 29,909 | 34,733 | 43,284 |
| 2010 | 30,205 | 35,254 | 43,975 |
| 2011 | 30,984 | 36,413 | 46,057 |
| 2012 | 31,682 | 37,297 | 47,427 |
| 2013 | 32,283 | 38,167 | 48,634 |
| 2014 | 33,269 | 39,294 | 50,103 |
| 2015 | 34,471 | 40,722 | 52,016 |
| 2016 | 35,083 | 41,518 | 53,225 |
Sources: Data on ESI premiums comes from the Kaiser Family Foundation (2017) Employer Benefits Survey. Data on average annual earnings for the bottom 90 percent are author’s analysis of data from the Social Security Administration 2017, updated using the methods of Mishel and Kroeger 2016.
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