Employers pay more for health insurance, number of uninsured rises

PBS NewsHour: "The price businesses pay for their workers' health insurance has ballooned more than 41 percent over the past six years, according to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund. At the same time, many workers are getting less for the money -- per-person deductibles have risen 71 percent over those same years, according to the report. … The squeeze is particularly acute in the south and southwest, according to the report, where premiums are slightly below the national average -- but average wages are even further below. So health insurance in those states makes up a bigger percentage of workers' average total compensation" (Winerman, 12/6).

ModernHealthcare.com: "The number of uninsured adults nationwide rose by 5.6 million between 2007 and 2009, with the largest percentage of newly uninsured living in the Midwest, according to a new report" published online by Health Affairs. "The number of American adults under age 65 with employment-based insurance fell from 164.2 million to 156.2 million over those two years during the height of the recession, mostly because of job loss and movement from full-time to part-time work" (Vesely, 12/6).