Health care costs rise slowly for those who get insurance at work

Health care costs rise slowly for those who get insurance at work

Health insurance costs for Americans who get their coverage through their jobs have seen only small annual increases since the federal Affordable Care Act went into effect, despite soaring premiums in the new marketplaces.

Employee contributions to their health expenses rose more slowly between 2010 and 2015 in most states, including California, than they did in the previous five years, according to a report released Wednesday by the Commonwealth Fund.

The report follows this week’s news that premiums for mid-level plans sold through the federal exchange created by the health law will increase by 25 percent next year — a concern Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has raised in recent speeches.

“There just hasn’t been the large-scale disruption in the employer market that was anticipated before the Affordable Care Act went into place,” said Sara Collins, the report’s lead author and vice president of health care coverage and access for the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation supporting research on health care.

While the health law requires large employers to offer insurance to their workers and has additional provisions such as requiring employers to allow children up to age 26 to stay on their parent’s policy, it largely leaves job-backed coverage alone.

Some major insurers have scaled back their participation in the exchanges, citing financial losses from higher-than-expected use of medical services.

Yet the Commonwealth Fund’s researchers found health costs in the employer market remained relatively stable.

“They’re facing a bigger burden today relative to their income a few years ago because wages have remained largely flat over the past few years,” said David Radley, senior scientist at the Commonwealth Fund.

Handel said the employer-backed health insurance market is mature and stable while the Obamacare exchanges are newer, smaller and tend to draw people who are sicker or drop in and out of coverage.

Open enrollment for many employer policies begins this fall, and individual policies can be purchased through the state exchange, Covered California, or outside the marketplace from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31.

Whether you get health insurance through your employer or buy it as an individual, here are some tips that should help you pick the right plan:

If the premium you pay for an employer-backed plan adds up to more than 9.69 percent of your income, you could be eligible to buy health insurance through the state exchange and receive a subsidy.