Fast-rising premiums have forced companies to shift more costs to employees.
By John Richardson jrichardson@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
While Congress argues over how to extend health insurance to the growing number of people without it, most Maine businesses and workers struggle with a different problem: how to afford the insurance they have.
The average cost of health coverage through employers' plans in Maine grew nearly 70 percent from 1999 through 2008, according to a study released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Maine's median household income grew only 0.2 percent during the same period.
"It's been a nightmare," said Rick Snow, co-owner of Maine Indoor Karting in Scarborough.
The company's health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2003, he said, even though it dropped prescription drug coverage and increased the amounts that employees pay through co-pays and deductibles.
Family coverage, for example, has increased from $471 a month in 2003 to $809 a month now, and the cost shows no sign of slowing down. "We had a 30 percent increase in July," Snow said.
The foundation's report is adjusted for inflation, which means it shows how much faster insurance premiums have risen than other expenses.
"The high cost of health insurance has been the number one issue for small businesses since the late 1980s, and it just gets worse," said David Clough, Maine director of the National Federation of Independent Business.
To keep up, companies typically pass on more of the cost to employees or forgo other employee benefits, he said.
Maine workers have clearly taken on a larger share, according to the foundation's report. The portion of the premium paid by employees for single coverage more than doubled from 2000 through 2008, even adjusted for inflation, the report said. ....
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