7am News, Sports and Obits

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Cost of Health Insurance Rising Faster than Pay
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A national advocacy group says health insurance premiums rose five times faster than earnings in Illinois from 2000 to 2009.

The report released Thursday says, on average, the annual insurance premium for a family paid by employers and workers rose from $7,220 to $13,397. That's an increase of nearly 86 percent.

The workers' portion rose at an even steeper pace.

Meanwhile, the median earnings of Illinois workers rose just 17 percent, from $26,806 to $31,414.

The report comes from Families USA, a group working to expand health care coverage. The group based its findings on federal data.

Congress is considering several bills that aim to restrain costs. But benefits consultants have said if any reform is passed this year, it won't have a major effect for a few years.

On the Net: http://www.familiesusa.orgbr>
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
09 17 09 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.