Employer-sponsored health insurance
Health care premiums have risen far faster than wages and inflation.
Compare annual employer and employee premium contributions with cumulative wage growth and consumer inflation. Use the controls to switch between family and single coverage, or between dollar amounts and growth indexed to 1999.
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Sources and method: Premium and worker contribution data are from KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey exports, 1999–2025.
Employer contribution is calculated as total premium minus worker contribution. Wage growth uses BLS/FRED Average Hourly Earnings of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees, Total Private (AHETPI), averaged for January–March each year. Inflation uses BLS/FRED CPI-U All Items, U.S. City Average (CPIAUCSL), averaged for January–March each year. Growth index sets 1999 = 100.