Workers and businesses in Michigan are squeezed by rising healthcare costs, according to a new report from the Economic Alliance for Michigan, the state's only business-labor coalition.
The EAM report, "Rising Health Care Costs and the Economy, Focus: State of Michigan," compiles government data and the findings of more than 24 economic studies to document the cause and impact of rising healthcare costs.
"The findings suggest that unless healthcare costs are contained, Michigan employers will struggle to create jobs and increase wages, leaving Michigan's working middle-class families struggling for years to come," EAM President Bret Jackson, said in a news release. "Michigan's leaders must strategically address rising healthcare costs to stop or at least ease this disastrous drain on the economy."
Here are five findings from the report.
1. In metro Detroit, healthcare spending rose 59 percent between 2007 and 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's significantly more than the increase in entertainment spending (13 percent), or spending on household furnishings (4 percent). At the same time, spending on apparel and services declined 15 percent during the same period.
2. About 53 percent of Michigan residents have employer-sponsored health insurance, and employers in the state are struggling to meet rising premium costs by reducing the number of new hires and limiting wage increases, the report notes. Employees at most businesses are also picking up more burden when it comes to premium costs.
3. The median average family income in Michigan grew just 0.4 percent between 2008 and 2013, while the cost of the average family insurance premium rose nearly 35 percent and the employee's share increased 57 percent, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
4. Ninety percent of company leaders could invest more in their business if the company's healthcare costs were lower, according to a Harris Poll commissioned by San Francisco-based Castlight Health and included in the EAM report.
5. For employers, rising healthcare costs mean for every four employees making $45,000 annually, the employer pays more than $46,000 in healthcare premiums, federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality data show.
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