Mandates and the Cost of Health Insurance in New York State

          Mandates and the
          Cost of
          Health Insurance
          in New York State


	Health insurance mandates cost premium payers $1,066 for family policies and $444 for individual policies. This is 12.2% of the total premiums. (Employer Alliance, NYS Mandated Health Insurance Benefits, 2003)
	New Yorkers pay 26% more than the national average for health care. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2000)
	Higher health care costs increase the number of uninsured. In New York, it is estimated that for every 1% increase in premiums, 30,000 New Yorkers lose health insurance. (Barents Group, 1999)
	Rising health care costs have the biggest impact on the small business sector. For every 1% increase in premium costs, small business sponsorship of health insurance drops by 2.6%. (Morrisey et al., 1994)
	The percentage of US small business workers receiving insurance through their employer declined 5% between 1996 and 1998 – from 52% in 1996 to 47% in 1998. (KPMG Peat Marwick, 1999)
	Nearly one of every four uninsured Americans has no health care coverage as the direct result of state mandates. (Jensen, Morrisey, 1999)
	Mandates have a cumulative impact on premium costs. It is estimated that the cost of the 12 most common mandates can increase the cost of health insurance by as much as 30%. (Milliman and Robertson 1996)
	The United Hospital Fund estimates that nearly 65% of people without insurance in New York State are working full time.
	State mandates primarily affect small employers and the self-employed who purchase private insurance for themselves and their families. That is because most large employers self-insure under federal law, making state mandates inapplicable to their benefit package.
	Health care costs have risen in part because governments have imposed new requirements on health insurance companies. When governments impose new health care requirements, do you think they should provide an estimate of the cost of those new requirements to consumers. Yes 77% No 14% Don't know/No opinion 8% Topics: Health Government Regulation Consumer Business Conducted by Ayres, McHenry & Associates, November 6-November 7, 2002 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult voters (see note) sample of 1,000. National adult voters are those who voted in the November 5, 2002 election.
	Between the period of 2000-2006, family health insurance premiums for New York's workers rose 5.5 times more quickly than median earnings. On average, family health care premiums rose by 71.8%, while median earning rose by only 13%. (Families USA - PRemiums vs. Paychecks - October 2006)