Today, SEIU's Change that Works campaign released a report on rising health care costs and the value of reform in Louisiana. The facts speak for themselves - in a state like Louisiana, health care reform is not just about improving the health and safety of Americans, it's also a bottom-line, balance sheet issue. Government, families and businesses large & small stand to save trillions from fixing health care. It will strengthen Louisiana's businesses, help us retain jobs, and provide greater access and choices to citizens in need of care. Below are highlights from the report:

Health Reform will Save Consumers Money. A reformed health care system will save every individual over $7,000 in premium and out of pocket expenses over the next ten years.

• Health Insurance premiums in Louisiana increased by 75.3 percent from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings only increased a mere 22.9 percent.
• The median yearly wage in 2007 for Louisiana was only $25,147, but the average health care premium for a family was $11,455. This means that premiums grew 3.3 times faster than wages
• By 2016, projections show that Louisiana families will have to pay around $23,000 for health care annually.
• If current trends continue, family premiums would cost over 60 percent of median household income. This would represent an 84 percent increase over 2008 levels.
• In Louisiana, approximately 992,000 non‐elderly people will spend more than 10% of their pre‐tax family income on health care costs in 2009.

  78.2 percent of those spending more than 10% of their income on health care costs have insurance, but are underinsured.

  776,000 Louisiana residents with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre‐tax income on health care costs, and 231,000 spend more than 25% of their income.

  • Louisiana's senior population is not exempt from high out of pocket costs for health care either. Medicare beneficiaries in Louisiana spend about 30 percent of their incomes, on average, on out‐of‐pocket health costs.
  • Even though Medicare is a necessary and popular program, it falls short of what many people age 65 and over need to ensure health and financial security. In Louisiana average out of pocket spending for Medicare beneficiaries is $5,366. Download the entire report here: