Health insurance costs grow more gradually in 2008

(AP) -- Health insurance premiums rose a modest 5 percent this year for coverage that's getting skimpier, researchers say. The 5 percent increase was comparable to last year's uptick. Overall, premiums for family coverage increased to $12,680 and premiums for single coverage increased to $4,704, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. Employers pick up, on average, about three-quarters of that cost.

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• lengould100 - Sep 24, 2008
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  "The Bush administration has aggressively pushed the accounts as a way to lower health inflation and make consumers smarter shoppers." -- Problem with that logic is, if its true THEN USA should be spending less per capita on healthcare than other countries with universal single-payer healthcare, eg. Canada.
  
  In fact, Canada spend less (a LOT less) and gets better results.
  
  Canadian and American health care systems compared - Wickipedia http://en.wikiped...compared
  
  {QUOTE}In 2005, per-capita spending for health care in the U.S. was US$6,401; in Canada, US$3,326
  ...
  A 2007 review of all studies comparing health outcomes in Canada and the U.S., in a Canadian peer-reviewed medical journal, found that "health outcomes may be superior in patients cared for in Canada versus the United States, but differences are not consistent."[7] Life expectancy is longer in Canada, and its infant mortality rate is lower than that of the U.S.,{/QUOTE}
  
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• lengould100 - Sep 24, 2008
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  Here's the REAL killer in the US system..
  
  {QUOTE} Furthermore, though patients who were treated for these benign cancers were at little risk, they often have trouble finding health insurance after the fact. {/QUOTE}
  
  Just for that reason alone, anyone with a consiounce MUST opt for a universal single-payer system.
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