Health insurance premiums paid by workers in Utah have risen over the past four years five times faster than incomes in the state, according to a study prepared for Families USA, a health-care coverage advocacy group.

According to the report, premiums paid by Utah workers rose 66.3 percent from 2000 to 2004, much higher than the national average increase over the same time period of 35.9 percent. Average worker earnings in Utah rose only 13.2 percent during the same time period compared with 12.4 percent nationally, leaving many Utah workers with less take-home pay today than four years ago.

The disparity between the growth in the cost of health care and incomes in the state is the third-highest in the nation. Alaska is the worst, where the cost of health care coverage has grown 6.2 times faster than incomes, followed by Mississippi and South Dakota, which tied with health care costs growing 5.4 times faster than incomes.

The study, conducted by Lewin Group, a health research consulting company, is based on a variety of sources, including the Census Bureau data and state and federal wage reports.

"What this report shows is absolutely tragic," said Judi Hilman, health policy director for Utah Issues, an advocacy group for low-income Utahns. "We're going to see a significant increase in the number of uninsured people if premiums keep increasing faster than incomes. People are going to go without health care coverage or they will try and keep their coverage but do without other basic necessities for their families."

While the cost of health care in Utah - and nationwide - has grown in recent years, many Utah workers this year were shocked by sizeable increases in the amount they have to pay for coverage. In some cases, the amount deducted from employee paychecks for health insurance doubled as employers passed a greater share of the costs on to their employees to cope with rising costs.

Workers at air-bag manufacturer Autoliv, which employs about 5,000 in Utah, are required to pay about 10 percent of their employees' health insurance coverage this year, up from about 5 percent last year. The company, however, shoulders the greatest burden of premium costs by paying the other 90 percent.

Employees at health insurance provider Regence BlueCross BlueShield last year on average paid 12 percent of their health insurance premiums; this year they are paying 30 percent. The company pays the remaining 70 percent.

Wells Fargo economist Kelly Matthews said it is important to keep in mind that while employees have paid more toward their health care coverage costs, so have companies. "In fact, many companies have worked hard to avoid having to pass any more of the increases on to employees than they had to," he said.

Nationally, many groups are trying to address the issue of rising health insurance costs, promoting creation of a national health care system. Many employers and insurers are emphasizing preventive care such as well-child checkups and flu shots and health and exercise programs.

Other employers hope that by increasing the premiums their employees must pay while also increasing deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket costs, workers will use health care more judiciously and in turn, drive down companywide health insurance costs.

Meanwhile, however, rising premiums mean growing numbers of people simply cannot afford health insurance, according to the report by Families USA.

The report shows 29.5 percent of Utah's residents younger than 65 are uninsured, up from 28.1 percent four years ago.