New Jersey employers saw the second largest percentage increase of family coverage health insurance premiums of any state last year, according to an analysis by the University of Minnesota’s State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC).
Nevertheless, more than half of New Jersey employers still offer health benefits, and more than 85 percent of New Jersey workers have access to employer-sponsored insurance.
According to data released by the center, New Jersey’s average annual premium for family coverage went from $18,242 in 2016 to $20,669 in 2017, a 13.3 percent increase. Only West Virginia had a larger increase.
NJBIA Now Offers Health Benefit Solutions
Additionally, New Jersey’s average annual family coverage premium is the fifth highest in the nation, behind Alaska, Wyoming, New York and Massachusetts. For single coverage, average annual premiums increased 9 percent in New Jersey to $7,074, which is the fourth highest in the nation.
Despite the high costs, 51 percent of New Jersey employers still offered sponsored insurance to their employees in 2017; only 10 other states had a higher percentage.
“Employer-sponsored insurance continues to be the backbone of the insurance coverage system in the United States, covering more than half the population,” the SHADAC staff stated in a recent blog post.
“Given the dominant role of employer coverage in the broader coverage landscape, it is important to note that changes in the costs and value of employer coverage affect a significant number of people.”
