The Minnesota Department of Health sent out a press release last week, saying that private health insurance premiums increased by 7.2 percent per enrollee in 2006.

That number is up 4.5 percent from 2005, according to a report by the state's Health Economics Program. 

Growth in health plans' expenses per enrollee increased from 7.2 percent in 2005 to 8.9 percent in 2006, while enrollees' average out-of-pocket costs grew by 15 percent.

The report can be viewed at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpsc/hep/index.html [1].