4 ms·

We don’t have free healthcare in the US. It’s disingenuous to not consider health care as a benefit with monetary value. These people would otherwise have to pa

by cwhiz 6y ago

We don’t have free healthcare in the US. It’s disingenuous to not consider health care as a benefit with monetary value. These people would otherwise have to pay actual money for health care.

xphos 6y ago
I would agree with you but healthcare isn't a liquid/tangible asset like own stock or making cash is. I can't take out my healthcare the same way I can sell stock or collect a paycheck. Which in my opinion makes all the difference when calculating income. Its a much easy argument to make when healthcare's cost can be much greater than funds paid out. For instance if the equation for income was Income = Wages + Asset_growth (simplistic) but you could compare two people person A makes 10$ person B makes 100$. There is a lot of income inequality but if you add healthcare to that which is only "cashable when sick" of say 20$ both parties have a real delta of 100$ but there % difference lowered significantly in this case it went from 90% to 75% even though the actually income which people can choose how it is spent and use still has a 90% difference. Sounds like adding extraneous variables to mask more interesting differences
- cwhiz 6y ago
  You’re making it way more complicated than it needs to be. Most everyone pays for healthcare with pre-tax dollars. Others get it for free outright from the government. The cash benefit of government paid insurance does not need to be more complicated than the median cost of healthcare for paying participants.
Frost1x 6y ago
While I do agree, it's also often incredibly difficult to compare monetarily. Plans vary in coverage and out of pocket expenses significantly combined with the fact you don't know what you will need to use the insurance for, if anything at all. When you're younger, it's less likely it's valuable, when you're older, it's more likely that it's valuable. If you have a preexisting condition (say someone needs dialysis), it's a little bit more straightforward because you already know what sort of services you need. Ultimately you don't know what you service provider will end up charging the insurance to cover costs, how little your insurance will try and provide, and what you'll have left to pickup on the tab. Furthermore, employers are known to shop the market for better deals, so the insurance you sign up for could shift in 6-12 months. I factor insurance into comp but I look at only the most general attributes and I don't weight these as directly as compensation because I (knock on wood) am fairly healthy and tend not to use my insurance.
Ensorceled 6y ago
It's also disingenuous to not factor in the massive wealth transfer in progress via the US health care system in an article on income inequality that counts healthcare as income. The US pays almost double per capita for health care compared to its northern neighbour Canada.
- cwhiz 6y ago
  You can’t make this argument and also make the argument that free healthcare is not a financial benefit. If US citizens pay twice as much as Canadian citizens, why can’t I argue that Medicaid is twice as valuable?

by cwhiz 6y ago

We don’t have free healthcare in the US. It’s disingenuous to not consider health care as a benefit with monetary value. These people would otherwise have to pay actual money for health care.

xphos 6y ago

I would agree with you but healthcare isn't a liquid/tangible asset like own stock or making cash is. I can't take out my healthcare the same way I can sell stock or collect a paycheck. Which in my opinion makes all the difference when calculating income. Its a much easy argument to make when healthcare's cost can be much greater than funds paid out. For instance if the equation for income was Income = Wages + Asset_growth (simplistic) but you could compare two people person A makes 10$ person B makes 100$. There is a lot of income inequality but if you add healthcare to that which is only "cashable when sick" of say 20$ both parties have a real delta of 100$ but there % difference lowered significantly in this case it went from 90% to 75% even though the actually income which people can choose how it is spent and use still has a 90% difference. Sounds like adding extraneous variables to mask more interesting differences

cwhiz 6y ago
You’re making it way more complicated than it needs to be. Most everyone pays for healthcare with pre-tax dollars. Others get it for free outright from the government. The cash benefit of government paid insurance does not need to be more complicated than the median cost of healthcare for paying participants.

Frost1x 6y ago

While I do agree, it's also often incredibly difficult to compare monetarily. Plans vary in coverage and out of pocket expenses significantly combined with the fact you don't know what you will need to use the insurance for, if anything at all. When you're younger, it's less likely it's valuable, when you're older, it's more likely that it's valuable. If you have a preexisting condition (say someone needs dialysis), it's a little bit more straightforward because you already know what sort of services you need. Ultimately you don't know what you service provider will end up charging the insurance to cover costs, how little your insurance will try and provide, and what you'll have left to pickup on the tab. Furthermore, employers are known to shop the market for better deals, so the insurance you sign up for could shift in 6-12 months. I factor insurance into comp but I look at only the most general attributes and I don't weight these as directly as compensation because I (knock on wood) am fairly healthy and tend not to use my insurance.

Ensorceled 6y ago

It's also disingenuous to not factor in the massive wealth transfer in progress via the US health care system in an article on income inequality that counts healthcare as income. The US pays almost double per capita for health care compared to its northern neighbour Canada.

cwhiz 6y ago
You can’t make this argument and also make the argument that free healthcare is not a financial benefit. If US citizens pay twice as much as Canadian citizens, why can’t I argue that Medicaid is twice as valuable?