Health Care Costing More

There was an interesting study publisher here in Texas recently showing how the cost of health care continues to climb, becoming a bigger and bigger problem for families today. According to Families USA, a consumer health care advocacy group, 26% of the 5.6 million people in Texas under age 65 will spend 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care this year. What's more interesting is that 72% of the group have insurance. The report also says that 1.7 million Texans are in families that will spend more than 25% of their pre-tax family income on health care this year.

The problem with health care costs is not just the uninsured, it's the cost we're all paying today. In Texas health insurance premiums rose from $6,638 in 2000 to $12,403 in 2007, an 86% increase while median earnings rose just 15%.

Add in the time and expense of dealing with the standard insurance industry practice of "denial management" and the toll just keeps on rising for American families. Any wonder there is such a concentrated effort to enact health care reform this year?