A study released Tuesday by a Washington, D.C., think tank confirmed what many Montanans could report just from looking at their pay stubs: health insurance costs here are rising much faster than wages.

According to Families USA, a nonpartisan group that calls itself "The Voice for Health Care Consumers," health insurance premiums for coverage provided through work rose 4.3 times faster than earnings in Montana over the past six years. While the median income in the state rose 16.3 percent between 2000 and 2006, the cost of annual health insurance coverage for a family increased 70.2 percent in that time, or 4.3 times faster than the rise in income.

"People in Montana have every reason to believe their instincts that they are being pinched economically, and healthcare is eating a larger and larger portion of their income," said Families USA director Ron Pollack.

Montana actually fared better than average in the state-by-state study. Nationally, Pollack said, insurance premiums are up 73.8 percent since 2000, with the median income up just 11.6 percent in that time.

Businesses are feeling the pinch as well. The study found that for family coverage, the total premium spending per worker increased $4,363, from $6,220 in 2000 to $10,584 in 2006. Of that increase, the share paid by the employer grew $3,013 per worker, while the employee bore $1,350 of the increase.

In other words, the share paid by the employee grew 107.7 percent, while the share paid by the employer grew 60.7 percent.

"Everything is a trade-off, and there's only so much on the bottom line," said Webb Brown, president of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, a business advocacy group. "Employers are looking at increases in health insurance premiums versus bonuses, versus wages, versus benefits that may or may not be extended."

Brown, who's toured the state in recent weeks to talk to business leaders about their concerns ahead of the pending legislative session, said health care costs are "a huge issue, and we do hear about it. It's one of the top three issues everywhere we go."

The Montana Chamber's member insurance plan now covers some 4,000 Montanans. Brown noted that while the rate of increase in insurance costs has slowed in recent years, "it's still outstripping earning power, and it's a serious issue for everyone in the state."

Families USA's Pollack noted that a higher percentage of Montanans are uninsured than the national average, and that another recent study showed that more than 50 percent of bankruptcies are due in whole or in part to problems paying for medical care.

"If earnings continue to lag behind fast-rising health care costs, Montanans will face diminishing economic and health security," he said.

The study, based on information from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, can be accessed through www.familiesusa.org.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.