The annual cost of employer-sponsored family health insurance plans rose 7% in 2023, pushing the average premium to $23,968 per year, according to the latest KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey. Workers pay $6,575 of the total cost on average, a year-over-year increase of about $500, or 8%, with employers picking up the rest of the bill.
Although price hikes have been relatively small over the last two years, over the past five years, insurance premiums have increased by 22%, roughly in line with wages (up 27%) and inflation (up 21%), KFF said.
Deductible levels have held steady lately, with employers expressing concerns about passing too much of the cost of healthcare onto their employees. But on a longer horizon, the average deductible has risen 10% over the last five years – and 53% over the last 10 years.
“Rising employer health care premiums have resumed their nasty ways, a reminder that while the nation has made great progress expanding coverage, people continue to struggle with medical bills, and overall the nation has no strategy on health costs,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said.
KFF health insurance expert Matthew Rae put it more simply: “It's just an incredible amount of money to spend on health insurance every year,” he told Axios.
