Health insurance continues to be a big issue for Americans and a fiery subject of debate for both US presidential candidates. Over 45 million Americans lack health insurance, while some of the people having insurance struggle to cope with soaring medical coasts. According to a report released by Families USA, a national advocacy organization for consumers of health care, workers' health insurance premiums have shot up more than five times faster than their wages since 2000.

More exactly, the average cost of family coverage in the workplace went from $6,672 in 2000 to $12,078 in 2007. At the same time, average wages rose about 15 percent.

"People who used to take health care coverage for granted no longer can do so, and they are at growing risk of joining the ranks of the uninsured or underinsured," says Ron Pollack, the group's president.

And the gap between wages and health costs varies widely between states, he added. Michigan had the biggest gap. Health insurance premiums rose more than 17 times faster than workers' average earnings between 2000 and 2007. On the other side, Nevada had the narrowest gap. Overall, premiums rose 2.5 times as fast as wages.

The report is based on information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Another study on the healthcare issue published this week in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that of the 9 million children and adolescents in the US who have no health insurance coverage, 28 percent have an insured parent. The number doubles if you include children who have gaps in coverage during the year. The study found that more than 1 million children had no coverage for the entire year, while 3 million children had some lack of coverage despite having one parent with full coverage. The study was made by Oregon Health and Science University researchers.