Employee costs for family health insurance offered through their job increased more in Utah than the national average and dozens of other states amid an ongoing congressional fight over tax credits that help millions of Americans afford health care. <\/p>\n
A 50-state analysis<\/a> from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center<\/a> at the University of Minnesota shows a sharp 2.5 % cost increase for Americans last year, outpacing inflation. <\/p>\n Annual health care premiums for families on employer-sponsored insurance did even more so in Utah, with the average premium increasing by more than $1,000 \u2013 a nearly 5% jump.<\/p>\n That could affect hundreds of thousands of people, since Utah had 2.1 million residents insured through an employer in 2023 \u2013 more than 60% of the population and the highest rate of employer-sponsored coverage in the country. <\/p>\n Some may see a boon, since individual premiums for Utahns on insurance through their job decreased. <\/p>\n But overall, insurance through a job is becoming \u201cincreasingly unaffordable for employers and their employees,\u201d said Elizabeth Lukanen, director at the center that completed the analysis. <\/p>\n \u201cAs policymakers look for solutions to curb the growing health care affordability crisis, addressing the decades-long trend of increasing costs in employer-sponsored insurance must be part of the conversation,\u201d Lukanen added in a statement. <\/p>\n Lawmakers, though, with a ticking clock to address expiring subsidies for some people insured through the Affordable Care Act before the end of the month, have yet to come to a consensus on the future of American health care policy.<\/p>\n Family premiums increased<\/p>\n Nationally, annual premiums for family coverage offered through employers rose to $24,540 last year, an increase of more than $600 from 2023. Premiums for individuals increased by more than $300 to $8,486. <\/p>\n In Utah, the average annual cost of family coverage increased by $1,084, putting the Beehive State amid 21 states where premiums increased by at least $1,000. <\/p>\n The 4.8% jump in costs last year is far from the biggest increases in states like Delaware and Alabama, where average annual premiums for family plans through an employer increased by 26.4% and 13.7%, respectively. <\/p>\n But it\u2019s still among the largest increases in the country. <\/p>\n The rise also continues a trend of higher premiums for Utah families covered by employer-sponsored insurance, which have gone up 184% since 2022 and 26.3% since 2019. Premiums have also increased nearly every year since 2002. <\/p>\n On the other hand, average premiums for individuals decreased by $232 last year. They\u2019ve also increased at a lower rate than family premiums, going up 160.3% since 2002 and 24.1% since 2019. <\/p>\n Health care costs a top policy concern<\/p>\n Rising health care costs have emerged as a top consumer and policymaker concern, the University of Minnesota researchers said. <\/p>\n Yet employer-sponsored insurance is often overlooked in policy debates, even though it\u2019s \u201cnot immune from the healthcare affordability crisis that is tightening its grip throughout America,\u201d said Katherine Hempstead. <\/p>\n Hempstead is a senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation<\/a>, a philanthropic organization focused on making it so \u201chealth is no longer a privilege, but a right,\u201d according to the website. <\/p>\n Most of the debate now is focused on tax credits that help people secure insurance through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, via the health insurance marketplace. The credits were originally passed in 2021, which expanded tax credits for ACA coverage to people making more than 400% of the federal poverty level, which is equivalent to just over $62,000 for an individual. <\/p>\n But the vote on a three-year extension of the enhanced premium tax credits failed Thursday by a vote of 51-48, as it needed 60 votes to meet the Senate\u2019s standard for closing debate. <\/p>\n Though originally considered a pandemic-era temporary measure, marketplace enrollment more than doubled<\/a> in Utah and across the country when the enhanced credits were introduced, and are now set to expire at the end of the year.<\/p>\n Democrats made the credits central to the recent government shutdown<\/a> fight, demanding that Republicans join with them to support a measure to extend the credits indefinitely. However, after a 43-day shutdown \u2014 the longest in U.S. history \u2014 eight Democrats defected without a deal on the subsidies to reopen the government.<\/p>\n Lawmakers float policy solutions<\/p>\n (Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy speaks to reporters amid the ongoing federal government shutdown at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n