Average American family spend on medical costs is $16,700 pa

The average total medical spending for its "typical American family of four" reached $16,771, an increase of $1,162, according to Milliman, a  global consulting and actuarial firms. While cost trends are  decelerating for the third-straight year, the total-dollar rise is the  highest since 2006.

The Milliman Medical Index tracks the changes in average yearly health  care costs when the family of four is covered by an employer-sponsored  preferred provider organization. The new Milliman study provides not  only a total cost number for this family but also the share of costs  between employers and employees. It also offers differences among 14  metropolitan areas.

"Among lost jobs, lost revenue, strained government budgets, consumer  insecurity, and an uncertain future, the macroeconomic climate is  affecting health care costs," said study co-author Lorraine Mayne,  Milliman principal and consulting actuary. "Throw in health care reform  and you have a cost trend environment unlike any we've seen in recent  memory," she added.