How has linking health insurance to employment had an impact on ordinary Americans?
I mean besides worrying that if the company you work for goes bankrupt there goes your health insurance and the COBRA extension; Also, wouldn’t it be amazing if you could work the job you *want* rather than the one that offers the best benefits. Why do we still have this system as it limits self employment, small business growth and creates “job lock”? Ever tried buying insurance independently outside of an office pool with two pre-existing conditions? Even if you cut back on absolutely everything, it’s still unaffordable.
August 12th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
1) It means that most working Americans (fulltime) do have health insurance through their companies.
2) It means that most Americans have absolutely no idea as to how much their health insurance REALLY costs: about $12,500-13,000/year for family coverage.
I am with you, we are on COBRA and spend 25% of our income on health insurance. next year we will be uninsurable because my husband has had prostate cancer–not exactly his fault.
My feeling is we will never have universal health coverage until ALL Americans understand how much health insurance really costs by having to pay for it themselves rather than getting it at a reduced cost thru their employers.
August 12th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
It depends on where you live. I’m insuring a 55 year old guy with brain cancer in Maryland for $211 per month on MHIP+ (Maryland Health Insurance Plan).
Now if your state had that plan you’d have a different view of insurance. Last month I insured an already pregnant 28 year old for $150/month.
Oh, and they both have $200 deductibles and all their pre-existing conditions are covered. My state is just a front-runner and goes about it the right way. You have to have been declined from other coverage to qualify for the plan (or have used up COBRA). It keep the numbers on the plan down, but it looks at health and income. Call your state Senator and ask why you don’t have a plan like Maryland does!
http://www.marylandhealthinsuranceplan.state.md.us/
And, if you’re healthy and under 45 you can easily get a plan for less than $200/month. That certainly beats giving up 30% of your income for a plan.
August 12th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Economic theory suggests that if workers fully value their health insurance benefits, they will bear the burden of higher premiums in the form of lower wages, with no change in the level of employment or total wage and benefit costs to employers. But if firms are limited in their ability to offset higher benefit costs through lower wages – for example, by minimum wage laws or union contracts – then rising premiums may cause employers to reduce their work force or shift employment to employees who do not receive benefits, such as part-time workers.
Understanding the relationship between health insurance premiums and employment is of growing policy relevance, since many proposals to cover the uninsured rely on “employer mandates” that would require employers to cover workers. Rising premiums provide an opportunity to observe the labor market effects of higher benefit costs.
You Can find lots of info about insurance here : http://www.allinsurancesecret.com
August 12th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
I agree, if you have great group insurance thu your employer, most people do not realize the true cost of insurance.
My 1st time finding out was back in 1988. My employer when sign up came for all benefits; ie; vacation, LTD, STD, health insurance etc
You had the choice to pick what options you wanted. On one side was the cost to the employee and the 2nd column was the cost to the employer. For health, if was free for the employee only, but addtl cost for spouse/family etc. But on the employers column showed just for the employee only was over $6K per year? I thought to myself, that cant be possible that my employer is paying out $6k per year for every employee in this company? (over 2,000 employees) But when I left the company for a new job in 1996, I had a 90 day waiting period for the new insurance to kick in, so I took out the Cobra and was paying over $500 per month till the new company kicked in.
Fast forward to today. I imagine that many people cannot fathom that their insurance thu their employer might be $13K per year, even when they hear it on all the news shows. Or that many of the auto workers plans can cost almost $18K to $25k per year and one of the reasons for the doomed auto industry.
RX costs; we live in an era that is producing so many good drugs out there and even if you look at the cost of insurance pays vs your copay does not give you a true cost since, they get a lower negotiated contract price with the insurance. I had great insurance 5 years ago with great RX coverage. One month the cost for a 3 month supply was $1200??? I found out when they informed me that we had to have this package shipped and had to be there to sign for it due to the cost of these drugs.
If in doubt and taking drugs, call your local pharmacy and ask the cost for a drug without any insurance and most people may not realize that some simple drugs like Lipitor, Wellbutrim cost over $100 per month for 30 days only.
Or get unlucky and lose your job and try and find a private plan and find out that even though you are taking Lipitor or blood pressure medicine that controls your condition, maybe barred by STATE LAW from getting insurance. Your only option is to get into the state HIGH RISK POOL, that maybe going bankrupt, waiting period and exorbitant rates that you may not be able to afford.
And yes as a general rule, most people are locked into a system due to benefits of health care.