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Health cost "double-whammy": Low wage increases, higher health spending

The New York Times recently noted that popular economic statistics such as GDP and average wage growth are not capturing what is happening with many families.   

 In my view, we also need to regularly report net disposable income by class and quintile.  Net disposable income shows an even more accurate picture of why many working- and middle-class people are not “feeling the GDP growth love” personally.  The government (BLS) assembles the household wage & spending data needed to do this, but is not pulling it together and presenting it.

 Combining these shows long-term wage stagnation worsened considerably by higher health costs.  Not only are health costs hampering wage growth, as employees accept lower wage increases, in order to preserve their health benefits;  households are also using up those limited new wages in the form of higher deductibles & premiums.  (See slides.)


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