Family health-care premiums rose an estimated 5.3 times faster than wage earnings in the state of Washington from 2000 through 2009, according to a report issued today by the consumer health organization Families USA.

In the 10-year period, family health insurance premiums rose by 113.3 percent, while median earnings rose by only 21.6 percent.

Among the report’s key findings are:

• The average annual health insurance premium (employer and worker share of premiums combined) for the period ranged from $6,496 to $13,857 — an increase of $7,361.
• The median for employee earnings rose from $26,761 to $32,530 — an increase of $5,769.

The disproportionately high increases in premiums occurred at the same time that health benefits shrank. That is, coverage was offering fewer benefits or being provided with higher deductibles, copayments and co-insurance by the end of the decade. In other words, families are paying more but receiving less in health coverage.

Families USA is a national nonprofit that advocates high-quality, affordable health care.

- Leah Beth Ward