3 ms·

I've studied this a little. There are many stories depending on what you choose to believe. I believe the current state of affairs is a consequence of tax pol

I've studied this a little. There are many stories depending on what you choose to believe. I believe the current state of affairs is a consequence of tax policy; health insurance benefits are untaxed income, a tax policy often attributed to powerful labor unions in the early 20th century. ACA attempted to tax "Cadillac" plans but the sunrise on that was kicked years down the road and when it was about to take effect in 2015 the can was kicked again to 2020. The tax is likely to be repealed before then. So health insurance remains an enormous untaxed income benefit, one that grows in importance as health care costs spiral up. As a wise person once said; If you want more of something, subsidize it. Thus our present health insurance regime.

thephyber 9y ago
> is a consequence of tax policy; health insurance benefits are untaxed income, a tax policy often attributed to powerful unions in the early 20th century. I can't remember where I heard it, but IIRC employer-sponsored health benefits had to do with a fringe benefit that employers could give to attract employees during a national wage freeze (perhaps WW2). I just found this timeline[1] that confirms my broken memory (@see 1943). [1] https://www.ebri.org/publications/facts/index.cfm?fa=0302fact https://www.ebri.org/publications/facts/index.cfm?fa=0302fac...
- Pokepokalypse 9y ago
  yes
tasty_freeze 9y ago
These problems far predate the ACA. I come from a large family (8 kids). When by mom was still alive, I asked her if making medical claims was a pain. Nope, she said: tell your information to the doctor, and sometimes she'd have to pay part of it. Now, even with "gold plated insurance", many of my families doctors don't handle insurance; we pay them directly, and we have to deal with the insurance companies ourselves. My wife spends countless hours dealing with what I assume is willful incompetence. For example, filing four identical (other than date) forms for a series of physical therapy sessions, and having the insurance company approve two and reject two because the codes were wrong. Or the it was unreadable. Followup calls get a different person every time, and when they review it they say: oh, I don't know why it was rejected, that is fine. I'll personally make sure it gets fixed. And then it doesn't get fixed. Having to call five for six times for one bill is common.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

thephyber 9y ago

> is a consequence of tax policy; health insurance benefits are untaxed income, a tax policy often attributed to powerful unions in the early 20th century. I can't remember where I heard it, but IIRC employer-sponsored health benefits had to do with a fringe benefit that employers could give to attract employees during a national wage freeze (perhaps WW2). I just found this timeline[1] that confirms my broken memory (@see 1943). [1] https://www.ebri.org/publications/facts/index.cfm?fa=0302fact https://www.ebri.org/publications/facts/index.cfm?fa=0302fac...

Pokepokalypse 9y ago
yes

tasty_freeze 9y ago

These problems far predate the ACA. I come from a large family (8 kids). When by mom was still alive, I asked her if making medical claims was a pain. Nope, she said: tell your information to the doctor, and sometimes she'd have to pay part of it. Now, even with "gold plated insurance", many of my families doctors don't handle insurance; we pay them directly, and we have to deal with the insurance companies ourselves. My wife spends countless hours dealing with what I assume is willful incompetence. For example, filing four identical (other than date) forms for a series of physical therapy sessions, and having the insurance company approve two and reject two because the codes were wrong. Or the it was unreadable. Followup calls get a different person every time, and when they review it they say: oh, I don't know why it was rejected, that is fine. I'll personally make sure it gets fixed. And then it doesn't get fixed. Having to call five for six times for one bill is common.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]