Insurance rates are rising again ? up to 12.5 percent in the Baltimore region.
Premiums have topped inflation for a decade, outstripping wage growth since 1999, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Employees are also paying more of the tab through out-of-pocket expenses.
Workers at smaller companies and younger, healthier singles may save with private insurance. In Maryland, a family of four could find private coverage for as little as $237 a month with a $2,500 annual deductible or up to $686 a month with a $1,500 deductible, according to ehealth.com.
“It?s hard to gauge how many people are opting out of employer-sponsored coverage,” said Gary Claxton, a vice president at the foundation, “but the numbers could increase if employees face further cost increases.”
The report found 37 percent of those working in a company of three to 199 employees can pay 50 percent or more of the premium for family coverage. That compares with just 5 percent at larger companies.
Nationwide, premiums now top $12,000, with employees at smaller companies paying $504 a month, the report states.
