by: KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer

Oklahoma family insurance premiums increased a staggering 50 percent between 2001 and 2005, while income remained near flat during that period, according to a study being released Tuesday from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"Families are being increasingly squeezed between stagnant incomes and rapidly rising costs," said David Blatt, director of policy for the Oklahoma Policy Institute.

The analysis, "Squeezed: How Costs for Insuring Families are Outpacing Income," was conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota for the nonprofit foundation.

Of the 42 states for which 2001 and 2005 data was available, Oklahoma's premium increase was the greatest, data showed.

It is unclear specifically why Oklahoma's percentage increase was higher than other states.

But Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland speculated part of the reason is due to the high percentage of uninsured Oklahomans.

"I would guess it is our increased number of uninsured and the decrease in the status of our population's health," she said. "We're sicker and less insured."

The additional cost of treating uninsured people when their conditions are worse is passed on to those who pay for health insurance, Holland said.

Data show Oklahoma families paid an average $7,322 per year in 2001 for health insurance premiums compared with $10,985 per year in 2005, according to the study.

Nationally, the average cost of family coverage rose 29.6 percent between 2001 and 2005.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma median income was relatively unchanged at $38,880 per year in 2005-06, up slightly from $36,993 in 2000-01, the study said.

According to the study, U.S. average income rose slightly to $42,068 per year in 2005-06 from $40,818 per year in 2000-01.

The analysis' figures came from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which reported the average total family premiums for people who obtain health insurance through their jobs.

"Whatever limited income gains working families are enjoying are fully needed for increasing health insurance premiums," Blatt said.

In Oklahoma, 63,700 fewer people worked in private-sector jobs that offered health insurance in 2005 compared to 2001, the study showed.

The number of private-sector employers nationwide who offer health insurance to employees dropped by 30,000 nationally between 2001 and 2005. But Oklahoma actually saw an increase of 1,400 private-sector employers offering health insurance during that period, the study showed.

"Another point worth noting is Oklahoma has been doing better economically than most of the country of late," Blatt said. "This makes the situation even more worrisome."

If the national situation begins to spread into Oklahoma, those families already struggling will be hit even harder, he said.

"It's worrisome to see so many families barely making ends meet -- even in the good times," Blatt said.

Rising insurance premiums are partly a result of improved medical technology, from new procedures to better pharmaceuticals, he said.

"And the population is getting older, so there is overall greater consumption of health care as the work force ages," Blatt said. "Health care is something that you really can't save money on by putting it off."

Untreated conditions only get worse and become more costly to treat later, he said.

"Health care expenditures are one of the great challenges we as a state and nationally will experience over the coming decades," Blatt said. "It makes it even more imperative that we work on prevention and front-end care."

Some 47 million Americans do not have any health insurance. In Oklahoma, about 640,000 residents are uninsured, or about 21 percent of the state's population, the study showed.

"Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to correct issues related to the costs of health insurance and health care," said Richard Boone, president of St. John Medical Center Foundation.

Reducing the numbers of uninsured Oklahomans and lessening the impact on community hospitals to provide needed medical care will require broad-based solutions involving both the public and private sectors, he said.

Tom Neff, senior vice president of St. Francis Health System, said that "as a Catholic not-for-profit organization, it is integral to the mission of St. Francis Health System to serve those who are medically vulnerable."

Both "St. Francis Health System and St. John Health System continue to treat the medically needy without regard to source of payment," he said.

Link to text of full article on Tulsa World website