Health insurance premiums have increased at a faster rate in Wyoming than any other state during the past seven years.

Premiums for Wyoming's working families more than doubled between 2000 and 2007, according to a report released Thursday by Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group.

For family coverage, average premium costs for the employer and worker combined rose from $5,605 to $12,824 between those years, the report said.

Only Wyoming and Idaho had increases of more than 100 percent, said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

There's good news for Wyoming, though.

Pollack said Wyoming workers also experienced higher earnings increases during the same time period than a majority of states.

Wages increased almost 28 percent from $20,765 to $26,561 while the rest of the country averaged only about a 15 percent increase in wages.

"It did a whole lot better in terms of earnings," Pollack said. "But premiums were a real problem for Wyoming."

Information on state health insurance premiums came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Wyoming still exemplifies the problems established in the report "Premiums versus Paychecks: A Growing Burden for Workers," Pollack said as premiums rose 4.6 times faster than earnings in the state.

In some states, premiums increased 17 times the rate of earnings, but the U.S. average was about five times faster.

Pollack said national increases in premiums haven't been caused by "the whims of insurance companies." He said the research didn't indicate why premiums rose the fastest in Wyoming.

Wyoming organizations couldn't offer an explanation either, but they were just as concerned about the numbers.

Ken Vines, Wyoming insurance commissioner, said the Wyoming Insurance Department has no regulation authority over insurance rates.

"We are a competitive state," he said, and the Wyoming insurance market sets the rates.

Even though there are some states that regulate rates, he said it doesn't always matter. He said high health care costs equal high insurance premiums.

There are enough health insurance providers in the state to make the market competitive, although he said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming dominates the market.

Anne Ladd is the chief executive officer of the Wyoming Business Coalition on Health, a new organization that brings together top corporate decision-makers to engage in discussions with other employers and health care providers.

"I don't think it's one or two or three things you can point to," Ladd said. "We see increases in premiums everyday. The fact that this continues to happen year after year after year ... that's why the business coalition exists."

The organization isn't looking directly at premiums yet but working on prevention measures employers can put in place for their employees to reduce costs down the road, Ladd said.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal and his office are also working on several projects to emphasize prevention, said Wendy Curran, health policy advisor for the governor.

"The cost of health care hurts everybody and this report shows it hurts Wyoming workers and their employers," she said.

Even state employees have seen an increase in their premiums, she said.

The governor's office and the Legislature have both worked on rising health care costs in the past and will continue to in the future, but Pollack said this can't be solved at the state level.

He also said health care costs and people's abilities to afford health care are a deep-rooted cause of the country's economic problems.

"Some things states can do themselves, but they can't be real successful if they don't have an active partner in the federal government," Pollack said. "They're not going to find real relief if going it alone."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.