Discuss rising insurance premiums with experts at this Web chat Thursday

Health insurance premiums continue to dominate the healthcare debate -- and consumers’ questions about why they continue to rise. The experts at the Hartford Courant started a conversation on the topic last week; they’ll continue it Thursday with a Web chat examining the issue in even greater depth.

The previous live Web chat Dec. 2 raised so many issues about insurance premiums and how they are set that the paper decided to continue the online discussion 9 a.m. PST on Thursday. Featured guests will be Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, and Mary Ellen Breault, director of the Life and Health Division at the Connecticut Insurance Department.

Here’s a Booster Shots post that gives statistics by state of how much employer-based insurance premiums cost and how much they’ve increased.

So do your homework and then bring your comments and questions to the discussion Thursday.