The State of Health Insurance

Following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, U.S. healthcare and insurance costs have been thrust into the national conversation. (CBS News)

Insurance costs are higher than ever: In 2024, the average family health insurance premium was $25,572, up 6% from 2023.

Outpacing inflation: According to KFF, a nonprofit research group, health insurance costs have risen faster than inflation for most of the last 20 years.

Denied: Nearly 1 in 5 insured adults said they’d had a claim denied over the past year, a 2023 KFF survey found.

• Research from KFF also found nearly 1 in 5 non-group qualified health plan claims were denied in 2021.

Bankruptcy: Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S., with research showing roughly 3 million Americans owe more than $10,000.

Nuance: As political blogger Noah Smith noted in a recent essay, health insurance companies operate on relatively slim profit margins compared to the average S&P 500 company.

• For instance, UnitedHealthcare, which owns the largest health insurance market share in the U.S. operates at a net profit margin of 6.11% — compare that to the S&P average of 12%.

Zoom out: According to a KFF study, the main reason U.S. healthcare costs outpace those of similar countries is the higher fees charged by hospitals and doctors, not administrative costs (which include insurance overhead).

The vibes: The percentage of Americans who are satisfied with their healthcare quality and coverage has steadily declined over the past decade.

Bubba’s Two Cents

This is a complex issue. Anyone who’s dealt with health insurance has likely dealt with the maze of bureaucracy or the sting of having a claim denied over a technicality. Still, I think it’s important to temper our grievances with accurate facts. As California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna showed in a recent tweet, it’s easy to get caught up in misconceptions about the fine details: