Total cost of health insurance now on W2s

Workers at larger employers may notice new health insurance information listed on their W2 forms this year.

Under the federal health care overhaul, W2 forms now must include the cost of employer-sponsored health insurance. The form includes both how much you paid and what your employer contributes.

Larry Levitt of the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation said the new information is aimed at showing consumers the true cost of their health insurance.

"Their employer typically pays most of the premium," Levitt said. "What people actually see in terms of coming out of their own pocket, is only a small piece of the total cost of health insurance."

The health care costs are listed on the W2 form in Box 12 using code DD.

"There's this idea that if people understood more about how much health insurance costs, it might change their behavior or certainly change their perspective," he said.