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The Vulnerabilities Caused by Costly Iowa Health Insurance Coverage

Rising Health Care Costs Increase Iowans' Vulnerability

Increasing health care costs are forcing Iowans to cope with annual double-digit inflation rates in their household health care budgets. The result is that Iowans have faced and are continuing to face significant cost increases in what is a major portion of their household budget. (Research indicates direct medical care costs are a non-trivial component of household expenditures, comprising 19% of the median household income in Iowa.) Along with increases in underlying health care costs, individual Iowans are taking on a larger burden of their health care expenses in the form of increased co-payments and deductibles. Past research shows that health insurance premium increases affect the behavior of Iowa businesses and the overall Iowa and regional economies. We now look at how increases in health care expenses affect household finances and consumer behavior.

Iowans are paying more for health insurance, sometimes dramatically more.

Among Iowans with health insurance coverage, almost two-thirds (65%) say the amount they pay for their health insurance premium has increased over the past few years. Slightly more than one in five (21%) describe their premium cost as increasing dramatically.

Among those Iowans who have private health insurance (non-employment related) coverage, 85% say the amount they pay for coverage is increasing, and more than one-third (36%) say their premium cost is increasing dramatically.

The pressure of having to pay more for health insurance is felt more by Iowans over age 45 than by younger Iowans. Almost three-fourths of insured Iowans aged 45 to 64 (71%) describe their health insurance costs as increasing (including 26% who say it is increasing dramatically), while only 57% of Iowans aged 18 to 44 describe their costs as increasing (16% increasing dramatically).