The prices that consumers pay for health care insurance rose by 13.9% this year, the largest increase since 1990, and there are no signs that the increase will be temporary. In fact, since 2000, the price Americans pay for their insurance rose by 50%, from an average of $1,619 annually to $2,412. Price increases resulted from increased prescription drug costs, hospital care, insurers' desire for more profit, increased demand for medical care, and patients' persistent cries for less restrictive managed care. The good news for Americans is that relatively few employers dropped health care insurance for their workers, implying that relatively few Americans lost their health insurance coverage

(Updated November, 2003)