Employers Push Rising Health Care Costs to Workers in 2024
New surveys show surging premiums and deductibles are prompting workers to skip care as household budgets face pressure from higher food and gas prices.
American workers are absorbing a growing share of rising health care costs as employers shift higher premiums and deductibles onto their payrolls, according to new survey data. The trend is straining household finances already squeezed by elevated prices for food and gasoline, leaving many employees with difficult choices about how to allocate limited budgets.
The surveys indicate that the financial pressure is translating into tangible consequences for public health. A meaningful share of workers report forgoing doctor's visits, delaying treatments, or skipping prescribed medications when faced with out-of-pocket costs they cannot comfortably cover. Health economists have long cautioned that cost-shifting of this kind can defer minor medical issues until they become more serious and expensive conditions.
Read more Early Social Security Filings Surged Last Year, Experts Say →
The dynamic reflects a broader tension in employer-sponsored insurance, the dominant form of health coverage in the United States. When overall health care spending rises — driven by factors including hospital consolidation, pharmaceutical pricing, and an aging workforce — employers have historically passed a portion of those increases to employees through plan design changes rather than absorbing the full impact themselves.
For lower- and middle-income workers, the effect is disproportionate. A larger slice of take-home pay goes toward premiums and cost-sharing requirements, leaving less room for other necessities. That squeeze is compounded in the current environment, where consumers continue to contend with above-average costs at grocery stores and gas stations, even as headline inflation has moderated from its recent peaks.
Continue reading at NYT > Business
