Average total medical spending for a “typical family of four” reached$15,609 in 2008, an increase of $1,109 over the preceding year, according to the fourth annual Milliman Medical Index (MMI), released May 14 by the actuarial firm.
The MMI tracks the changes in average yearly healthcare costs when a family of four is covered by an employer-sponsored preferred provider organization. The new Milliman study determined that the average annual medical cost for a family of four increased by 7.6 percent from 2007 to 2008. This was lower than the 8.4 average annual rate of increase for the period 2003-07, but the burden of overall expense is steadily shifting to employees. Download the report.
