Companies say that double-digit increases in the cost of providing health insurance to employees will result in increased premiums, deductibles, and co-payments, and decreased service in the near future. With the economy slowing down and unemployment rising, companies that were unwilling or unable to pass increased healthcare cost on to their employees while the job-market was tight are likely to reverse this policy in 2002. This will have a profound impact on the two-thirds of American workers who rely on their employers for health insurance. See "Health Benefit Costs Soar 11% on Rising Drug Prices", by ROBERT A. ROSENBLATT, Los Angeles Times, Sep 07, 2001.
See "Health Benefit Costs Soar 11% on Rising Drug Prices", ROBERT A. ROSENBLATT, Los Angeles Times, September 6, 2001