With more employers shifting the burden of health care costs to employees the cost of health insurance premiums sky rocketed by 63 percent between 2003 and 2010. A new study by the Commonwealth Fund found that the cost of providing a family insurance plan jumped by 50 percent during those eight years. The study researched state-by-state cost and found across the board out-of-pocket premiums increases. The highest premiums paid by workers were in Maine, Texas, Florida, and Virginia while Michigan, Montana, and Vermont had some of the lowest. The highest was Wyoming where workers pay on average $1,479 for health care premiums. In 29 of the states surveyed the out-of-pocket costs broke the $1000 mark. The Commonwealth Fund said that if costs continue to increase at the current rate by the year 2020 the premium for a family plan could reach $24,000.
