Health insurance premiums have risen steadily, but how much?

Health-insurance premiums of the employer-based kind have skyrocketed in the last few years -- more than 40%, in fact, according to a new report. And when it comes to where one’s salary goes, those increases in health insurance premiums add up.

This report released Thursday by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund says that from 2003 to 2009, employer and employee premiums jumped 41% and that per-person deductibles rose 77% across the nation. “If these trends continue at the rate prior to enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the average premium for family coverage will rise 79% by 2020, to more than $23,000,” says this overview of the report.

And that means companies and businesses might pass the cost on to employees or abandon benefits altogether, as this Los Angeles Times story says.

Details are available, of course, just by exploring the report. Check out this map to see how much premium rates have risen in your state. And here’s a transcript of a recent Hartford Courant Web chat about why insurance premiums rise.

For an in-depth look at employer-based health insurance, see what the Kaiser Family Foundation (not associated with the HMO) has to say.