Sense of Crisis Prevails in Health Care

ft.com — Since 2000, premiums have risen 91 percent on average, while wages have risen 24 percent, and there are now 47 milliion people — 16 per cent of the population — without insurance for all or part of the year. Just as worrisome is what' happening to the 25 million-strong "under-insured," whose plight is taking the health care crisis to the heart of the middle class. This category includes people who have insurance but are being hit by out-of-pocket medical expenses that consume a disproportionately large slice of their income. Their ranks have risen by a "startling" 60 percent in five years, according to the Commonwealth Fund, the health research foundation, as small employers, in particular, curtail coverage in the face of rising premiums.

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