Utah State Workers to Share Increase in Premium Costs
Another victim of rising health insurance costs, Utah state workers will now be forced to contribute 5% to their group health insurance premiums, up from 2% last year. This equals roughly $16 extra per pay period for the average worker. The change was necessary to keep health insurance within the budgeted range. Utah state representatives say that the increase is “mild” and could have been much worse, affecting policies with increasingly large deductibles and other things. Employee representatives are worried however that the premium share increase will in fact be coupled with changes in deductibles, prescription coverages, and other policy features, but no decisions have been made public yet in that regard. How high can health care costs rise before no one can afford them anymore?