Employers are still the main source for insurance coverage for most Americans, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Nearly 70 percent of employers offer health coverage which is an increase of about 10 percent compared to last year. That sounds like good news, but even though about 157 million people receive insurance through their jobs, that doesn’t mean they’re not paying for it.

A new survey released from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Americans will pay about $4,000 to cover their families with health insurance through work. That’s a 14 percent increase, $482 more, compared to 2009 numbers. The main reason workers are being forced to pay more is because a slow economy is forcing companies to push more of the burden on their employees. The price of family policies increased by three percent to $13,770 according to Bloomberg.com. “Businesses have been shifting more of the costs of health insurance to workers through premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing,” Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement according to Bloomberg.com. “From a consumer perspective, the cost of health insurance just keeps going up faster than wages.”

Wages have increased by about 18 percent while inflation rose 12 percent since 2005. During that same time employees have experienced a 47 increase in their insurance contributions, while premium costs have increased 27 percent. And even though workers are paying more and more each year, they’re actually receiving less coverage. In 2010 more than one out of four employees had deductibles of at least $1,000. “What insurance is in this country is gradually changing. It’s becoming less comprehensive. It looks less and less like the comprehensive coverage their parents got,” Altman told Bloomberg.com. “From the perspective of working people, they’re getting less for more.”

Experts believe large employers are pushing the trend of having employees handle more of the health care cost burden. “We’re seeing that the continued economic downturn is leading to more burden for employees,” Kaiser Foundation Vice President Gary Claxton told Bloomberg.com. He believes that the health care overhaul will help lower insurance costs. “We don’t know how quickly that might happen. At least in the early years, I’m not sure health reform is going to mean that workers are going to face lower contribution amounts,” he said.

Any way to save money on health care costs is worth looking into. Health savings accounts allow you to plan ahead and set aside money that will be spent on health care costs in the coming year.

Every year companies pass out insurance open enrollment packets to their employees and every year many employees do not take the time to look these materials over. This is a mistake. Your open enrollment period is your time to look over your insurance choices.

Even as Congress organizes special health care reform committees for the purposes of developing comprehensive legislation that would transform the fabric of health care in American, one group has something to say.