Michigan's Group Insurance Premiums Rise, Now Highest in the US

It is known that the state of Michigan already has plenty to worry about. State residents have been fighting a slow state economy for a couple years. Workers in the auto industry try to avoid layoffs and forced early retirement, while college grads are having a hard time finding their first job.

A health care research group, Families USA, is now issuing a report that discovered that group health insurance rates are increasing way more than wages, at the quickest rate in the country. Health insurance rates for employer sponsored plans have risen by 78.2 percent from 2000-2007, while wages have only increased 4.6 percent.

A Detroit Free Press article wrote that Michigan workers are now paying more than their employers are paying, proportionately. The free Press article says that, from 2000-2007, the amount employers paid for health insurance heightened by 63.3 percent. During the same time period, employees part went up by 170.6 percent, ridiculously.

"[T]he whole system is being stretched. [This report is] another cause to look at the impending collapse of the whole health care system," said State Representative John Dingell. So what kind of health insurance reform will residents of Michigan choose? It seems as if they have already made their decision.

Michigan was considered a fighting ground in the presidential election. Apparently, McCain has pulled his campaign out of the state, stating it is because of decreased numbers in polls the last few weeks. this decision pretty much turns the state over to Obama.