Aug. 18--North Carolinians have seen their health insurance costs rise five times faster than their salaries over the last decade, according a new report released this morning that will likely add more fuel to the health-care debate.
The report found that health care premiums in the state rose 96.8 percent from 2000 through 2009, while median individual earnings rose by 18.4 percent, according to the study by Families USA and by Action for Children North Carolina.
"Rising health care costs threaten the financial well-being of families in North Carolina and across the nation," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. "If health care reform does not happen soon, more and more families will be priced out of the health coverage they used to take for granted."
The study comes at at time when there is intense national debate in Congress over President Barack Obama's proposals to overhaul the health care system.
In recent days, supporters and opponents of health care changes have jammed town hall meetings on health care in Rocky Mount, Lillington and Durham. Last Friday, 250 opponents picketed the the Raleigh offices of Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan.
On Monday, two national groups, began running a TV ad criticizing Republican Sen. Richard Burr for not backing the president's health care proposals.
"Why is Senator Burr taking the side of the insurance companies in the health care debate?" says the five-day $95,000 ad campaign sponsored by Health Care for America Now and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.
Meanwhile, the John Locke Foundation, a conservative Raleigh-based think tank, announced that it will hold a health care discussion Tuesday August 25 at 11:30 at Embassy Suites in Cary.
The new study charted how health care costs are rising in North Carolina between the years 2000 and 2009:
--The average annual health insurance premium (for employer and worker) rose from $6,649 to $13,083 between 2000-2009 or 98.6 percent. During the same period, the median earnings of North Carolina workers rose from $23,080 to $27,330 or 18.4 percent.
--The employer's portion of the annual premium for a family's health coverage in North Carolina for that period rose from $4,867 to $8,714 or a 79 percent increase.The employer's porton for an individual's coverage rose from $2,195 to $3,864 or a 76.1 percent.
--The worker's portion of annual premium for a family's health coverage rose form $1,782 to $4,370 or a 145.2 percent increase. A worker's portion for an individual health coverage rose from $475 to $877 or a 84.5 percent increase.
"For North Carolina, any absence of health care reform reform will mean that businesses have a harder time staying competitive, and more and more families will have to cope with stagnant wages and the loss of affordable health coverage," said Barbara Bradley, president and CEO of Action for Children.
Action for Children, started in 1983, is a non-profit organization that has advocated for early childhood programs such as Smart Start. Families USA is a 25-year old health-care advocacy organization.
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