American consumers are walking a very tight rope when it comes to budgeting. Rising health care costs are making the balancing act more difficult. That's why we created FamilyHealthBudget.com. In just a few minutes, health care consumers get the dollars-and-cents information they need to fit health care into their budget … plus some tips on how to take care of their family's health care needs and still save money.

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Humana…

Families know their health care costs are increasing, and they're worried about the future:

• 58 percent say their family's health care expenses have increased in the past three years
• 69 percent have experienced a health insurance premium increase in the past three years
• 78 percent worry that health insurance expenses are increasing to where they can't afford them

Americans are making tough choices because they're not prepared to pay for health care:

• 30 percent have avoided or delayed treatment recommended by their doctor because of cost
• 24 percent have gone into debt because they were unable to pay their portion of medical expenses

Many families don't have a budget at all, and few plan for health care costs:

• 50 percent don't have a family budget of any kind
• Only half of people who do budget take health care expenses into consideration
• 32 percent aren't sure how much their family spent on health care last year

Consumers want and need a way to estimate and plan for health care costs:

• 42 percent of insured respondents would be interested in an online self-assessment tool to help them set up a budget based on health and financial factors that may affect them

The good news is health care budgeting works. According to the survey, 74 percent of those who budget for health care say it's an effective way to give them more control of their family's health care expenses.

FamilyHealthBudget.com is sponsored by Humana, one of the nation's largest health benefits companies. This Website is one of Humana's many efforts to provide personalized guidance and user-friendly budgeting tools.

> Read more about Humana.