Industry News

On November 20, 2020, the Commonwealth Fund issued its brief, State Trends in Employer Premiums and Deductibles, 2010-2019. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, about 15 million Americans have lost their employer-sponsored health insurance and more coverage losses are expected through 2021. The brief provides a state-by-state analysis of insurance cost for workers regarding premiums and deductibles and as a share of their income from 2010 to 2019, prior to the pandemic. 

The brief indicates that employer plans’ premium contributions and deductibles accounted for 11.5% of median household income in 2019, up from 9.1% in 2010. In 2019, premium contributions and deductibles were 10% or more of median income in 37 states, up from 10 states in 2010. Furthermore, the average deductible for a middle-income household amounted to 4.7% of income in 2019, up from 3.3% in 2010. Overall, for single and family policies, the total cost of premiums and potential spending on deductibles ranged from a low of $5,535 in Hawaii to a high of over $8,500 in nine states.

The brief is available here.