Employees in Florida paid more for their health insurance in 2020 than workers in almost every other state, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund.
The study compared the costs of employee health insurance, including insurance premiums and deductibles.
The average amount Florida workers paid for premiums — which come out of their paychecks — and deductibles was $9,284 in 2020, or 16% of the state median income. Ten years ago, Florida workers paid $5,205, or 11% of state median earnings.
One reason the state’s health insurance costs are so high is because employers in Florida don’t cover the costs as much as employers in other parts of the country, said Sara Collins, lead author of the study and vice president of the Commonwealth .
In general, the cost of health insurance in Florida is comparable to the rest of the country. But the employees here have to bear a greater burden.
“Florida workers pay a higher percentage of that premium, one of the highest in the country,” Collins said. “And also the median income in Florida is lower than the national average, significantly lower in fact. So it’s really a perfect storm for high-cost cargo.”
With more money spent on insurance there is less room for workers to spend on other necessities, Collins said.
“We know from some of our survey data that people are struggling to pay for their health care costs by offsetting other parts of their budgets, less on food, maybe different housing, delaying getting an education,” he said. Collins.
Collins said it’s especially burdensome for people who make less money.
employee problems
And the problem has gotten worse in the last decade. In 2010, Floridians spent 10% of their median income on health insurance premiums and deductibles. Now, it is more than 16%.
Nationwide, health insurance costs represented 11.6% of median US household income in 2020, compared to 9.1% in 2010.
But the study found that families in Florida were hit harder than any other state. On average, employees who opted for family coverage had to pay 37% of their total premiums, or $7,674. This figure is the highest in the country.
State employees who opted for individual coverage averaged the third-highest rates in the nation: $1,811.
Florida health insurance deductibles – or the amount an employee has to pay before insurance kicks in – averaged $2,147, ranking among the 14th highest in the nation.
The study suggested solutions to national problems, such as expanding Medicaid eligibility and providing more subsidies for insurance plans in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
“Solving this problem will require political action to extend affordable health insurance coverage to all Americans,” said David Blumentahal , president of The Commonwealth Fund. “But we also have to go to the root, which is the high costs that make health care so expensive for everyone.”
