Health care premiums rise 6.1%, far outpacing wages

By Julie Appleby, USA TODAY

Health insurance premiums rose 6.1% this year — the lowest rate of increase since 1999 — but that fact offered little solace to employers and workers, who have seen overall premium increases rise far faster than wages or inflation during that same period.

So says a report released Tuesday by the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, which annually surveys about 2,000 employers and publishes a detailed review of costs.