News For: Young Peoples health InsuranceurenceHealth insurance costs grow 5% in '08 Health insurance premiums rose a modest 5% this year for coverage that's getting skimpier, researchers say. German Health-Care Workers Take to Berlin Streets in Protest Sept. 25 -- German health-care workers are staging their biggest-ever protest today in Berlin, denouncing what they call inadequate funding from the government for increasingly costly medical care. Kennedy Working Now for January Health Care Push Brain cancer has kept Sen. Ted Kennedy from Washington this month, but he and his staff are still hard at work on a major health care plan that he'll unveil early next year. Health Highlights: Sept. 24, 2008 Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay: Health-care costs to rise in '09 Get ready to add ''health care'' to the list of things that probably will cost you more next year. A national survey released Wednesday reveals that 40 percent of companies say they're ''very likely'' or ''somewhat likely'' to increase the amount employees pay for their health insurance in 2009. Health insurance costs up 5 percent this year WASHINGTON Health insurance premiums rose a modest 5 percent this year for coverage that's getting skimpier, researchers say. The 5 percent increase was comparable to last year's rise. Overall, premiums for family coverage increased to $12,680 and premiums for single coverage increased to $4,704, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. Employers ... Health care pinches workers Premiums are up 5 percent this year, and employees at small firms get less coverage WASHINGTON -- Premiums for job-based health insurance are up 5 percent in 2008 and have more than doubled since 1999, a growth rate that far outpaces inflation and the increase in workers' wages over the same period, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation annual survey of employers.Meanwhile, a growing ... Survey finds slower rise in cost of health benefits The average cost of health insurance for employers and employees nationally increased at its slowest pace in a decade, according to a widely followed survey. Health-Care Costs for U.S. Employers Rise 5 Percent, Study Says Sept. 24 -- Employer-sponsored health insurance for a family cost an average of $12,680 this year, a 5 percent increase from 2007, a survey of U.S. businesses found. Appeal to be held for young cancer sufferer Manawatu's final home game of the provincial rugby season has taken on added significance with the match against Tasman also a fundraiser for young back Aaron Cruden, who is battling cancer. |

