California Employer Health Benefits: Cost Burden on Workers Varies — 2023 Edition - California Health Care Foundation (2024)

In 2022, 64% of firms in California offered health benefits to at least some of their employees. Sixty percent of workers at those firms were covered by their firm’s health benefits. Premium costs are typically shared between employers and workers.

California Employer Health Benefits: Cost Burden on Workers Varies presents data compiled from the 2022 KKF Employer Health Benefits Survey.

Key findings from the survey include:

• Annual premiums for covered workers in California averaged $8,083 for single coverage and $22,818 for family coverage.
• On average, workers paid 15% of the cost for single coverage ($1,167 annually) and 30% for family coverage ($6,680 annually).
• One in five covered workers with family coverage paid more than half of the premium.
• The average deductible for covered workers with single coverage and a deductible was $1,464. Single coverage deductibles were higher at firms with fewer than 200 workers than at larger firms ($1,850 vs. $1,354).
• Fewer covered workers in California had a deductible of $1,000 or more than workers nationally (42% vs. 61%) in 2022. However, nearly one in four covered workers at small firms in California had a deductible of $2,000 or more.

The full report, charts, and data file are available for download below. These materials are part of CHCF’s California Health Care Almanac, an online clearinghouse for key data and analyses describing the state’s health care landscape. See our entire collection of current and past editions of California Employer Health Benefits.