Health insurance for working families in West Virginia is increasingly becoming unaffordable, even for those covered through employer-sponsored plans, according to new data from the Commonwealth Fund.

In 2024, the combined cost of premium contributions and deductibles for family coverage was more than 10% of Mountain State workers’ income. Employers have consistently covered about 20% to 30% of the cost of employee plans.

David Radley, senior scientist for the Commonwealth Fund, said as overall costs have gone up, workers end up paying more toward plans each year.

"If employees keep paying more and more into their insurance plan but their wages aren't keeping up, then employees are paying a higher share of their wages to buy that insurance," Radley explained.

In 2024, around 760,000 people in West Virginia were covered by employer-sponsored insurance, representing about 44% of the state's population, according to the Association of Health Care Journalists.

Radley stressed improving the nation’s health care system and improving price transparency can help cut costs.

"Ultimately, the underlying problem here is overall health care spending," Radley emphasized. "We need to do things to get health care spending under control."

According to the report, West Virginia is among just five states in the nation where the cost of premium contributions for family coverage exceeded 8% of median household family income. It is above the Affordable Care Act’s threshold at which an offer of employer coverage is considered unaffordable.

Source: Public News Service