By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Annual Healthcare Costs For Family of 4 Now At $22,030
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > Annual Healthcare Costs For Family of 4 Now At $22,030
BusinessPublic Health

Annual Healthcare Costs For Family of 4 Now At $22,030

Dan Munro
Dan Munro
Share
3 Min Read
Image
SHARE

(Editor’s Note: Dan Munro writes for Forbes.com under the heading “HealthCare Compass”)

It’s that time of year for our annual check-up with the folks at Milliman. We’ll cut to the chase – it’s not good news. The full report is available (here) and the chart for annual healthcare costs for a fictional family of 4 (with a PPO) for each of the last 11 years looks like this:

 

(Editor’s Note: Dan Munro writes for Forbes.com under the heading “HealthCare Compass”)

More Read

Big Tobacco is Still Targeting Our Kids
New Cancer Screening Recommendations Very Controversial
Medicaid Expansion Rejection Starts to Bite
What Paul Krugman Doesn’t Know About Health Reform
Animated GIFs: A New Tool to Get Attention on Twitter

It’s that time of year for our annual check-up with the folks at Milliman. We’ll cut to the chase – it’s not good news. The full report is available (here) and the chart for annual healthcare costs for a fictional family of 4 (with a PPO) for each of the last 11 years looks like this:

 

Image

Of the $22,030 healthcare cost for a family of four, the employer pays about $12,886 in employer subsidy while the employee pays the remaining $9,144, which is a combination of $5,544 in payroll deductions and $3,600 in employee out-of-pocket costs. For employees, this represents a cost increase of 6.5% over last year’s total employee cost of $8,584.

You may recall from our coverage last year that the figure for 2012 ($20,728) compared almost exactly with the cost of a new model sedan from Chevrolet – the Cruze (here). This year, Milliman has elected to compare the figure ($22,030) to the annual cost of attending an in-state public college (a difference of only $231):

They’ve also updated the graphic to more easily represent the annual cost by component. The three basic components are:

1) Employee Contribution to health insurance ($5,544 payroll deductions)
2) Employee out-of-pocket Expense ($3,600)
3) Employer Contribution ($12,886)

Milliman also compared the total employee contribution with groceries for a year (slightly more) – and then the out-of-pocket employee expense with the yearly cost of gasoline for the average household (also slightly more).

There was a lone bright spot:

“For the second consecutive year, the increase over the prior year on a percentage basis was the lowest in the history of the study—and yet the total-dollar increase still exceeded $1,300 for the fourth year in a row,”said Lorraine Mayne, principal and consulting actuary with the Salt Lake City office of Milliman.

I wish there was better news here – there isn’t. Regardless of the fiscal debate around healthcare costs – the net effect to a family of four remains a huge challenge and a big part of the family budget. Unless and until this number stops going up – we’re not making the progress we need on either the technology side or the legislative side of healthcare transformation. In the end – those are the only two levers we have to bend the cost curve.

Original Post

TAGGED:healthcare costs
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

CMS (Finally) Makes Claim Data Public

December 7, 2011

Automated Care: Thermostat of Health or Ponzi Scheme?

September 6, 2012
major Vaccine Producers
Business

Why Are the Shares of Major Vaccine Producers Plummeting?

June 2, 2021
wound market growth bar graph
BusinessFinanceMedical DevicesTechnology

Factors Affecting Wound Market Growth Rates

May 21, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?