Get ready to pay more for healthcare -- again -- this year.
Health care premiums are projected to jump 6.3%, according to an analysis by Chicago-based consulting firm Aon Hewitt. Average employee costs, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs, are expected to average $4,814, up from $4,400 in 2012.
Experts say employee premiums will continue to rise as companies look to cut health care costs.
Overall health care costs in the U.S. are also expected to jump, by 7.5% this year, according to Price Waterhouse Cooper's Health Research Institute. While the rising costs are more than triple the pace of inflation, the increases pale in comparison to previous years' double-digit spikes.
Many consumers continue to postpone procedures and price shop wherever possible, which is slowing price growth, said Ceci Connolly, managing director at the institute.
"The rate of growth has come done and that's encouraging for consumers," she said. "But we still know that health care spending is rising too fast compared to everything else in our society."
