Health care eats up 12% of workers' income

Insurance premiums, combined with total deductibles, add up to 12% of workers' median incomes, according to a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund.

The big picture: Overall costs have been rising steadily for years, and workers' share of those costs have been growing even faster.

Details: Unsurprisingly, health care coverage is especially expensive in the South and in rural areas, which often have less competition among providers and sicker populations.

• Workers' annual premiums and deductibles together add up to more than $8,000 in 8 states: Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia.
• State by state, premiums eat up the biggest share of the median income in Louisiana, at more than 10%. Premiums and deductibles together topped 15% of the average income in Louisiana and Mississippi.