A new survey shows that over the last decade, employers have shifted the costs of health care onto workers. Half or workers with individual policies now pay annual deductibles of $1,000 or more, compared with 16% in 2006. At larger firms, that number is about 33%. the survey also showed that the premium rates for family health insurance plans rose 9.5% in 2011, though that number is expected to remain around 6% in the next year. The survey showed that companies have been shifting the costs of health care onto employees, paying slightly less, rather than dropping health care entirely.
See "Survey: Rising health insurance costs shifted to workers", N.C. Aizenman, The Washington Post, September 26, 2011