(ARA) - Anyone who has shopped for or is currently paying for health insurance knows that consumers are paying more than ever before for their policies. But the numbers are staggering. According to Families USA, workers' costs for health insurance rose 36 percent between 2000 and 2004 while the average workers' increase in earnings rose just 12.4 percent. The number of Americans spending more than a quarter of their income on medical costs climbed from 11.6 million in 2000 to 14.3 million in 2004, according to the group. No wonder almost 50 percent of Americans surveyed recently said they are very worried about having to pay more for their health care or health insurance, while 42 percent report they are very worried about not being able to afford health care services. "Politicians and pundits can debate the reasons for the high cost of health insurance in the United States, but the bottom line for most of us is simply whether we can afford the health insurance that we need to protect our families in case of injury or illness," says Chini Krishnan, CEO of Healthia, an online company that helps consumers find affordable health insurance. The sad fact is that even individuals who have access to health insurance through their employer often can't afford their share of the premium cost. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, the annual premium for an employer health plan covering a family of four averaged nearly $11,000 in 2005 while the annual premium for single coverage averaged over $4,000. Employers passed much of that cost increase on to employees. The good news is that it is possible to find affordable health insurance. And thanks to the Internet, finding the best deal for you and your family takes just a few minutes. One product that is helping to make health insurance more affordable is health savings accounts (HSA). Employers and individuals can make contributions to health savings accounts tax-free. The money may then be used tax-free to pay for qualified medical expenses. If you don't use all the money in your HSA in any given year, it can be rolled over to the next year. Copyright 2006, ARA Content