Healthcare costs continue to batter business bottom lines and employee pocketbooks. Premiums for job-based health insurance jumped 11.2 percent on average in 2004 across the nation, according to a new survey.
The 2004 increase was less than last year's 13.9 percent spike — still it was the fourth straight annual double-digit rate hike, according to the annual employer health-benefits survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Education Trust.