Health Insurance Costs to Rise Sharply in 2011

average of 8.9 percent in 2011. And to help  cover those rising health insurance costs, more than six out of 10 employers also expect to raise their employees’ share of the premium cost. Given that the average salary raise for 2011 is expected to be in the vicinity of 3 percent, it’s likely many Americans are going to see any bump in their compensation eaten up by having to pay more for health insurance.

As Derek Thompson laid out in a post last week at The Atlantic we may need to get used to that sad fact. Thompson highlighted this 2009 chart from the President’s Council of Economic Advisers:
Yes, the chart was ginned up pre-health care reform, but the final legislation pretty much punted on health care cost containment, so there’s no reason to expect the trajectories in the chart will change anytime soon.

Paying More for the Less Coverage

According to the National Business Group on Health survey, paying more of your overall premium is just one  extra cost you may face in 2011; out-pocket maximums and bigger in-network deductibles are the next two “most popular” options employers will enlist to share the pain of rising insurance coverage.