Today, Families USA released Too Great a Burden: Florida’s Families at Risk. The report shows that, in Florida, 3,873,000 people under the age of 65 — 79.7 percent of whom are insured — are in families that will spend more than 10 percent of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2008. And 1,210,000 Florida residents are in families that will spend more than 25 percent of their pre-tax income on health care costs in 2008.

This report also looked back to the year 2000 and found that the number of people in families paying 10 and/or 25 percent of their pre-tax family income on health care costs has increased significantly.

Why is this happening? A number of factors have driven this phenomenon. First and foremost, health insurance premiums are increasing. As premiums rise, employers are forced to make tough decisions about the coverage they offer to their employees: some drop coverage, others increase the share of the premium that employees must pay, and more offer insurance that covers fewer services and/or requires high out-of-pockets costs. As a result, Florida families must shoulder a greater portion of health care costs.