New Yorkers paid some of the highest health premiums in the country in 2022, with a key benchmark of affordability reaching its worst level yet, according to recently released federal survey of private-sector benefit plans.

The average annual tab for employer-sponsored single coverage in New York was $8,936, which was the costliest of any state. The gap between New York and the national norm for single coverage grew to more than $1,300 or 18 percent, its highest level in the 27-year history of the survey by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (see chart).

The prices for employee-plus-one and family coverage were also relatively high in New York, at 12 percent and 11 percent above the national averages, respectively (see table).

New York's premiums are partly driven by the state's generally high cost of living, but government policy also plays a role. Albany lawmakers have worsened the affordability gap by levying some of the nation's heaviest taxes on health insurance and continually imposing coverage mandates without rigorously analyzing the costs and benefits for consumers.