Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Workers Pay More For Health Care Despite Slowed Premium Increases: Study
Los Angeles Times: Workers Paying More For Health Insurance, But Getting Fewer Benefits
Although the Affordable Care Act has not led to soaring insurance costs, as many critics claimed it would, the law hasn't provided much relief to American workers either, according to a new study of employer-provided health benefits. Workers continue to be squeezed by rising insurance costs, eroding benefits and stagnant wages, the report from the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund found. (Levey, 1/7)
CBS News: Study: Premium Growth Slowed After Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act may be helping to slow down the ever-growing costs of health care, according to a new report. Still, the health care law has yet to entirely live up to its name. (Condon, 1/8)
McClatchy: Cost Growth In Job-Based Health Coverage Slowed After Health Law Passed
Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia saw slower growth in job-based health insurance premiums after the Affordable Care Act became law, according to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund. But because of slow wage growth, average annual health insurance premiums ate up 20 percent or more of household income in 37 states in 2013. That’s up from just two states, New Mexico and West Virginia, in 2003. (Pugh, 1/8)
Dallas Morning News: Texas Workers’ Health Insurance Costs Near Highest In Nation
The average Texas worker spent 12.3 percent of income on health insurance in 2013, a larger share for coverage than almost anyone else in the nation, according to a report released Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, a health policy think tank in New York. Florida, where 12.4 percent of income went for health insurance and deductibles, was the only state where workers spent more. (Landers, 1/7)
