The millions of Americans who have health insurance through their jobs are often viewed as fortunate, shielded from soaring medical costs as well as financial calamity if serious illness strikes. But the cost of those undeniable benefits is climbing—and fast.
Over the past decade, health insurance costs for U.S. employees of large companies have risen more than twice as fast as their pay, according to a recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Between 2008 and 2018, families with coverage through a large employer (defined as a corporation with at least 1,000 employees), saw those costs jump 67%. That was more than twice as fast as their wages increased over that same 10-year span, and more than three times the rise in inflation.
