Figure B
Growth rates in health care costs paid by insurers and workers are the same, which means insurers are not covering a higher share of health care costs: Cumulative growth in total health care costs for workers covered by employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), costs paid by insurers, and costs paid out-of-pocket by covered households, 2006–2016
Year | Total costs | Paid by insurer | Paid by insured household |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2007 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 5.3 |
2008 | 9.7 | 10.2 | 6.9 |
2009 | 17.8 | 18.6 | 13.5 |
2010 | 20.5 | 20.4 | 20.8 |
2011 | 24.7 | 24.6 | 25.5 |
2012 | 27.9 | 26.8 | 34.1 |
2013 | 32.6 | 31.1 | 41.5 |
2014 | 39.8 | 39.2 | 43.4 |
2015 | 46.1 | 45.5 | 49.5 |
2016 | 49.2 | 48.5 | 53.5 |
Notes: Costs paid out of pocket by employees include deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, but not employee contributions toward premiums. If insurers were compensating for rising premiums by providing more comprehensive coverage, their costs paid would be rising at a faster rate, but the closeness of the lines in the graph shows that the share of medical bills paid for by insurers has not increased.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation 2017
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