CHICAGO (Reuters) - Health insurance prices jumped 12.7 percent over the past year, the biggest hike since 1990, as insurers wrestled with soaring healthcare costs while pleasing investors with record profits, according to a survey of employers.

Big Fortune 500 companies and smaller firms alike are skimping more on health benefits, and more are opting not to offer health insurance at all. Employers said they cannot carry these costs on their own and are passing more costs to employees, a trend likely to escalate in the future, the survey said.

"What seems clear is that employees are likely to pay more for health benefits and health care in the future," said Larry Levitt, vice president of the Kaiser

Family Foundation, which released the annual poll of big and small employers' health benefit plans.

Even companies with so-called "self-insured" plans -- in which the employer takes on the risk and uses managed care companies to implement the plan, are seeing giant price increases.

"That's the most depressing part because it shows that it's not just insurers increasing premiums, but it is the underlying costs," Levitt said. "It is certainly a sign we've yet to hit the worst."

About two out of three Americans have health insurance through their jobs. The weak economy makes it easier for employers to be stingy with health benefits, experts say.

Meanwhile, health insurers like UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. have been delivering record profits to Wall Street, staying ahead of escalating costs.

UNINSURED, DEDUCTIBLES RISE

About 39 million Americans lack any health benefits, and the weak economy -- coupled with rising healthcare costs -- is exacerbating that problem, the report said.

The number of uninsured likely rose, with 61 percent of all employers offering health coverage to their workers, down from 67 percent just a year ago, the survey said.

"It is almost certainly the case that more people will find themselves uninsured," mostly those who work for smaller businesses, Levitt said. He noted that the lack of insurance is not limited to low-income people.

The average deductible to pay for doctors' visits for those in preferred provider organizations jumped 37 percent over the period, the survey said.

About half of all Americans belong to PPOs, which are less rigid than traditional health maintenance organizations.

Efforts in Washington to pass legislation to reduce the number of uninsured and offset rising prescription drug costs have stalled this year and few measures are likely to pass soon, experts say.

The survey of about 3,300 employers took place between January and May of 2002. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.

Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service