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AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE CRUNCH

Health Care > America's Health Care Crunch

Across America, working families are getting squeezed by our broken health care system.

In 2006, 47 million U.S. residents had no health insurance, and the numbers keep growing. Of the 47 million Americans without health insurance, 8.7 million are children.

Health care costs are rising at more than twice the rate of inflation. Health care premiums have increased 78 percent since 2001 based on the Kaiser Family Foundation surveys and wages have increased 19 percent. As employers refuse to pay their fair share, this trend may result in millions of workers losing their employer-based coverage (PDF).

Because employers increasingly are shifting health care costs to employees, America’s workers struggle to pay higher premiums, deductibles and co-payments—if they can afford such coverage at all.

Get the details in these state-by-state breakouts.

Employer-based premiums by state.
Number of uninsured by state.

Employer-Based Family Premiums in Each State

The average family premium per enrolled employee for employer-based health insurance, 2005 (from the Kaiser Family Foundation).

State	Employee Contribution	Employer Contribution
United States	$2,585	$8,143
Alabama	$2,719	$6,701
Alaska	$2,850	$8,692
Arizona	$2,873	$7,395
Arkansas	$2,523	$6,667
California	$2,390	$8,161
Colorado	$2,845	$8,005
Connecticut	$2,471	$9,246
Delaware	$2,324	$8,640
District of Columbia	$3,701	$7,922
Florida	$3,497	$7,355
Georgia	$2,830	$7,432
Hawaii	$2,193	$7,199
Idaho	$2,726	$7,672
Illinois	$2,265	$8,309
Indiana	$2,188	$8,490
Iowa	$2,436	$6,923
Kansas	$2,443	$7,291
Kentucky	$2,342	$8,275
Louisiana	$3,160	$7,442
Maine	$3,303	$7,986
Maryland	$3,011	$7,517
Massachusetts	$3,040	$8,395
Michigan	$1,891	$9,114
Minnesota	$2,734	$8,112
Mississippi	$2,811	$7,176
Missouri	$2,447	$7,501
Montana	$2,144	$7,914
Nebraska	$2,605	$7,200
Nevada	$2,800	$7,211
New Hampshire	$2,882	$8,953
New Jersey	$2,742	$8,661
New Mexico	$2,734	$7,903
New York	$2,609	$8,671
North Carolina	$2,659	$6,998
North Dakota	$2,723	$5,611
Ohio	$2,220	$8,442
Oklahoma	$2,860	$8,125
Oregon	$2,838	$8,060
Pennsylvania	$2,120	$8,988
Rhode Island	$2,581	$9,343
South Carolina	$2,112	$8,324
South Dakota	$3,374	$6,938
Tennessee	$2,752	$7,609
Texas	$2,834	$8,699
Utah	$2,585	$7,697
Vermont	$2,541	$8,879
Virginia	$2,723	$7,569
Washington	$2,474	$8,544
West Virginia	$1,945	$8,955
Wisconsin	$2,251	$8,732
Wyoming	$2,221	$9,246

Notes: Figures may not sum exactly due to rounding.

Sources: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends. 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)—Insurance Component. Tables II.D.1, II.D.2, II.D.3 available at: MEPS, accessed Aug. 8, 2007. The MEPS IC is an annual survey of establishments that collects information about employer-sponsored health insurance offerings in the United States. Definitions and descriptions of the methods used for this survey also are available.

Number of Uninsured in Each State, 2006

States	Number of Uninsured People (in thousands) *	Percentage of People Uninsured *	Number of Uninsured Children (in thousands) *	Percentage of Children Uninsured *
Alabama	689	15.2	82	7.4
Alaska	109	16.5	19	10.3
Arizona	1,311	20.9	283	17
Arkansas	521	18.9	65	9.3
California	6,791	18.8	1,225	12.8
Colorado	826	17.2	176	14.6
Connecticut	325	9.4	49	6
Delaware	105	12.1	24	11.7
District of Columbia	66	11.6	10	8.7
Florida	3,828	21.2	771	18.9
Georgia	1,659	17.7	314	12.8
Hawaii	110	8.8	19	6.3
Idaho	227	15.4	52	13
Illinois	1,776	14	302	9.5
Indiana	748	11.8	123	7.8
Iowa	307	10.5	44	6.3
Kansas	335	12.3	51	7.3
Kentucky	639	15.6	98	9.7
Louisiana	921	21.9	170	15.9
Maine	122	9.3	18	6.4
Maryland	776	13.8	137	9.9
Massachusetts	657	10.4	103	7
Michigan	1,043	10.5	116	4.7
Minnesota	475	9.2	104	8.3
Mississippi	600	20.8	146	18.9
Missouri	772	13.3	127	9.1
Montana	160	17.1	31	14.5
Nebraska	217	12.3	45	10.1
Nevada	496	19.6	122	18.8
New Hampshire	150	11.5	22	7.5
New Jersey	1,341	15.5	277	13.3
New Mexico	445	22.9	93	17.9
New York	2,662	14	380	8.4
North Carolina	1,585	17.9	307	14
North Dakota	75	12.2	15	10.3
Ohio	1,138	10.1	157	5.7
Oklahoma	661	18.9	114	12.5
Oregon	665	17.9	114	13.1
Pennsylvania	1,237	10	203	7.3
Rhode Island	91	8.6	10	4.1
South Carolina	672	15.9	112	10.7
South Dakota	91	11.8	18	9.2
Tennessee	809	13.7	94	6.4
Texas	5,704	24.5	1,392	21.2
Utah	442	17.4	120	15
Vermont	63	10.2	11	8
Virginia	1,006	13.3	185	10.1
Washington	746	11.8	105	6.9
West Virginia	245	13.5	34	8.5
Wisconsin	481	8.8	63	4.9
Wyoming	75	14.6	10	8.2
U.S. Total	46,995	15.8	8,661	11.7