General Electric (GE) employees in the US recently walked off the job after being asked to pay a larger share of their insured health services, and more American workers may follow.
This new labour tension is being driven by an upward spiral in insurance cost sharing in the US. GE says the new copayments will cost workers about US$200 a year, their union says US$400. Employers who finance or subsidize health insurance say this type of cost shifting is a must because of rising costs — a recent survey (N Engl J Med 2002;347[12]:956-62) indicated that insurance premiums rose by an average of 12.7% in 2002, the highest increase since 1990. The average monthly cost of individual coverage has risen to US$255 a month, and the cost of family coverage is now US$663 per month (US$7956 per year). — Milan Korcok, Florida