Health Care Costs for Family of 4 to Top $20K This Year

Health care costs for a family of four covered on an employer's insurance plan are expected to exceed $20,000 this year, an increase of 7% from last year—and more than double the $9,235 it would set you back in 2002. Under such plans, employers pay a large portion, but the portion employees have been asked to shoulder is increasing—meaning higher premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. Last year, employees paid $3,280 out-of-pocket to cover a family of four, an increase of 9.2%.

This will be the fifth consecutive year health care costs have risen between 7% and 8%, CNNMoney reports; meanwhile, other expenses also continue to increase while incomes do not. For those who purchase insurance on their own, the numbers are even higher: For premiums alone, the average family paid $7,102 in 2010. Click for the latest on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, which had sought to bring these costs back under control. (More healthcare stories.)