Health insurance outpaces pay hikes

LINCOLN — Health insurance premiums are outpacing wage increases for Nebraska families, putting coverage increasingly out of reach, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, along with Health Care for America Now, released the report as part of a national push for health care reform. The report’s release will be followed by a rally and lobbying effort Thursday in Washington, D.C.

The findings come as Congress begins consideration of President Barack Obama’s health care proposals, which include a public health insurance plan.

The Appleseed Center is a nonprofit organization that works on a variety of social issues. Health Care for America Now is a national coalition for health care reform.

Jennifer Carter, Appleseed’s director of health care access, said the report shows that change cannot wait.

“Nebraskans are worrying whether health care will be there for them when they need it most,” she said.

“Reform must include real choice and competition in the health care marketplace that will lower costs and keep insurance companies honest.”

Pat Bourne, vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, agreed that reform is needed. But he said insurance companies have been unfairly maligned as the source of rising costs when rising charges and growing use of health care have driven increases in premiums.

Of each $1 in premiums, Blue Cross pays out 85 cents to 90 cents in claims, Bourne said.

According to the report:

Ÿ Premiums for family coverage in Nebraska increased by 69 percent from 2000 to 2007, with the average annual premium reaching $11,434, up from $6,760. The premium figures include both employer and employee contributions.

Ÿ Median wages for Nebraskans rose only 21 percent in the same period, hitting $25,802, up from $21,255.

Ÿ About 130,000 nonelderly Nebraska adults in 2007 lacked health insurance, even though they worked. They accounted for more than half of the 224,689 uninsured Nebraskans in 2007.

The report quotes Jim Knopeck, a Belgrade, Neb., farmer.

“Health insurance — just for my wife and I — is running over $15,000 a year,” he said. “That could be half of our income in most years.”

The report also said a recent article in the American Journal of Medicine said 62 percent of bankruptcies nationally were related to medical bills.

The report noted that there were 6,447 nonbusiness bankruptcy filings last year in Nebraska, although it did not say how many of those could be attributed to medical bills.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com