Oregon Public Broadcasting

A new report from Families U-S-A says Oregon health care premiums rose almost five times faster than wages since 2000.The national non-profit looked at average family coverage costs, and median earnings, from 2000 to 2007.It found that Oregon’s premiums rose about eighty-five percent, while wages increased by just eighteen percent.Ron Pollack is the executive director of Families U-S-A. He says higher health care costs are hitting workers with a "triple whammy."Pollack: "First premium costs are skyrocketing, second the portion of the premium paid by workers is increasing even faster than the portion paid by employers."Pollack says the third "whammy" is that higher insurance costs force employers to suppress wage increases.

That means workers are paying more for their coverage, while getting paid less.Compared with the rest of the nation, Oregon's average rate of increase was slightly lower than in other states.