Employers' Family Health Insurance Cost $12,000-Plus in 2008

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Employer-paid health insurance coverage for a family of four in the United States cost an average of $12,298 last year, according to a new U.S. government report.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality also said Wednesday that the annual premium to cover an employee and one family member averaged $8,535 in 2008. The annual premium for coverage of one employee averaged $4,386.

Nearly one-third of the nation's 62.5 million workers with employer-sponsored health insurance had family plans, according to the report. Eleven million workers had employee-plus-one plans, and 31.5 million employees were enrolled in single-coverage plans.

On average, workers with family-care coverage contributed $3,394 toward the premium payment, the report noted. Those with employee-plus-one plans averaged $2,303, and the single-coverage employees contributed an average of $882.