About 151 million Americans under age 65 get health insurance through their employers, making such plans the largest source of coverage in the U.S. For years, the costs of buying health care coverage on the job has increased faster than wages and inflation, putting pressure on households. Thomas Buchmueller says: “When health-care costs go up faster, that really takes a bite out of wages more than profits. We’re getting more of our compensation in the form of health insurance, and that doesn’t make us feel richer, because you can’t take it to the store.”

More about Buchmueller says employee wages are hit harder than corporate profits by rising health insurance costs >