3 ms·

Absolutely agree. The idea that competition will drive up wages rests on the assumption of a labor market with enough liquidity for employees to jump freely bet

by jtr1 7y ago

Absolutely agree. The idea that competition will drive up wages rests on the assumption of a labor market with enough liquidity for employees to jump freely between roles. I do not understand the purpose of pinning health care to employers beyond giving them greater leverage over employees.

rhacker 7y ago
It is a huge shock for those that haven't been on both sides of employer paying half (or more). But I still agree with you - but we shouldn't be paying THAT much for health care. Right now (under an employee plan) I'm paying about $200 per month (me + wife). When I was on my own I was paying something like $400 for the two of us. That was 5 years ago, looking at the same plans available now, it's no less than $550. Health insurance is one of the strangest insurances - a single month costs more than a year or often at least 6 months of car insurance. Honestly I wish someone would just be a whistleblower and reveal the profits and operating costs (claims) of an "expensive year" at a health insurance company. The government would likely have a price collusion case.
- ryandrake 7y ago
  I love how “employer paying half” of a so-called benefit has become the norm. I’m old enough to remember when health insurance was an actual full benefit that you didn’t have to pay for at all. It never even showed up on your paystub. No payroll deduction, no or low deductible, sometimes even no copay. You go to the doctor and walk out. Now we’re paying from our paychecks, then paying again at the doctor, then getting billed, then waiting for the EOB from insurance, then taking hours a month to manually match up the EOBs with the bills to verify who to pay and how much. And then, MAYBE by the end of the year you reach your deductible and insurance starts actually paying. They call this a benefit??

3 ms·

Absolutely agree. The idea that competition will drive up wages rests on the assumption of a labor market with enough liquidity for employees to jump freely bet

by jtr1 7y ago

rhacker 7y ago
It is a huge shock for those that haven't been on both sides of employer paying half (or more). But I still agree with you - but we shouldn't be paying THAT much for health care. Right now (under an employee plan) I'm paying about $200 per month (me + wife). When I was on my own I was paying something like $400 for the two of us. That was 5 years ago, looking at the same plans available now, it's no less than $550. Health insurance is one of the strangest insurances - a single month costs more than a year or often at least 6 months of car insurance. Honestly I wish someone would just be a whistleblower and reveal the profits and operating costs (claims) of an "expensive year" at a health insurance company. The government would likely have a price collusion case.
- ryandrake 7y ago
  I love how “employer paying half” of a so-called benefit has become the norm. I’m old enough to remember when health insurance was an actual full benefit that you didn’t have to pay for at all. It never even showed up on your paystub. No payroll deduction, no or low deductible, sometimes even no copay. You go to the doctor and walk out. Now we’re paying from our paychecks, then paying again at the doctor, then getting billed, then waiting for the EOB from insurance, then taking hours a month to manually match up the EOBs with the bills to verify who to pay and how much. And then, MAYBE by the end of the year you reach your deductible and insurance starts actually paying. They call this a benefit??