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Employer-based healthcare was won by an alliance of corporate and healthcare industry lobbies against a state healthcare plan in the 1950s when the so-called “f

Employer-based healthcare was won by an alliance of corporate and healthcare industry lobbies against a state healthcare plan in the 1950s when the so-called “free market” healthcare system was failing the public. Prices were increasing and the New Deal corporate powers pacified the public with social security and employer-based healthcare. Edit: updated 1960s to 1950s per info in replies

ch4s3 5y ago
In the US healthcare was intentionally tied to employment as a means of controlling wage inflation during the 1950s by Eisenhower. He had pushed for the "middle way" of private nonprofit health insurance that could be purchased individually or by employers. As inflation began to spike, the administration added new tax benefits to encourage employers to compete on providing benefits rather than higher base salaries. Roosevelt also tried to institute a national scheme in the 30s but labor unions were split on notional vs. employer provided and it became a wedge issue that scuttled the plan. Truman's push for that same national health insurance plan was shot down in ~1949, partially killed by AMA lobbying.
- nopenopenopeno 5y ago
  You’re right. It was earlier than I thought. I updated my comment per your reply. Heaven forbid “wage inflation!” Was the AFL pushing for employer-based and the CIO pushing for national? I don’t even know where to find history like this. It’s virtually impossible for an average person to learn about the history of the American labor movement.
  - ch4s3 5y ago
    > Heaven forbid “wage inflation!” I realized after double checking that it was actually a 1942 Roosevelt bill, and they were trying to figure out how to keep a lid on rising prices during the war. It's also not uniformly good if prices also rise quickly. Inflationary spirals are real, and very bad for regular people. > Was the AFL pushing for employer-based and the CIO pushing for national? I'd have to double check. > It’s virtually impossible for an average person to learn about the history of the American labor movement. A bunch of this stuff is available in more popular history and online now. "The Devil Is Here in These Hills" is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it.
    - nopenopenopeno 5y ago
      Blaming employer-based healthcare on the stabilization act sounds suspicious to me.
      - ch4s3 5y ago
        It was intentionally tax incentivized via the tax code. There’s mountains of writing about it. See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/upshot/the-real-reason-the-us-has-employer-sponsored-health-insurance.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/upshot/the-real-reason-th...
- pg_bot 5y ago
  It's not Eisenhower's administration that's to blame, it's FDR's. Employer based healthcare is a result of the stabilization act of 1942. Health benefits were offered as incentives to workers because employers could not raise wages.
  - ch4s3 5y ago
    Yeah, I realized on a second pass that I had jumbled the "middle way" stuff with the Roosevelt era bill.
  - dragonwriter 5y ago
    > Employer based healthcare is a result of the stabilization act of 1942. Health benefits were offered as incentives to workers because employers could not raise wages. Employers can raise wages, and have been able to for some time, so that's not why we still have it. We still have it because of tax and other incentives, and because government keeps making policy decisions to protect, and even extend it (e.g., the ACA employer mandate), not because of the employers need to offer health benefits to compete because they can't offer more wages because of WWII-era wage controls.
    - nopenopenopeno 5y ago
      Employers love employer-based healthcare because it gives them insane amounts of control over their employees’ livelihoods. And as a result, wage competition is far less influential. The fear of losing healthcare coverage a severe fear that people in other countries don’t have to worry about.
      - ch4s3 5y ago
        I think a lot of employers find it to be a giant headache. It’s expensive and tricky to administer and has nothing to do with your core competency as a business.
    - pg_bot 5y ago
      I did not state that this is why we currently have employer based health insurance, just why it came into existence. Many consider this to be the "original sin" of US healthcare policy.

ch4s3 5y ago

In the US healthcare was intentionally tied to employment as a means of controlling wage inflation during the 1950s by Eisenhower. He had pushed for the "middle way" of private nonprofit health insurance that could be purchased individually or by employers. As inflation began to spike, the administration added new tax benefits to encourage employers to compete on providing benefits rather than higher base salaries. Roosevelt also tried to institute a national scheme in the 30s but labor unions were split on notional vs. employer provided and it became a wedge issue that scuttled the plan. Truman's push for that same national health insurance plan was shot down in ~1949, partially killed by AMA lobbying.

nopenopenopeno 5y ago
You’re right. It was earlier than I thought. I updated my comment per your reply. Heaven forbid “wage inflation!” Was the AFL pushing for employer-based and the CIO pushing for national? I don’t even know where to find history like this. It’s virtually impossible for an average person to learn about the history of the American labor movement.
- ch4s3 5y ago
  > Heaven forbid “wage inflation!” I realized after double checking that it was actually a 1942 Roosevelt bill, and they were trying to figure out how to keep a lid on rising prices during the war. It's also not uniformly good if prices also rise quickly. Inflationary spirals are real, and very bad for regular people. > Was the AFL pushing for employer-based and the CIO pushing for national? I'd have to double check. > It’s virtually impossible for an average person to learn about the history of the American labor movement. A bunch of this stuff is available in more popular history and online now. "The Devil Is Here in These Hills" is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it.
  - nopenopenopeno 5y ago
    Blaming employer-based healthcare on the stabilization act sounds suspicious to me.
    - ch4s3 5y ago
      It was intentionally tax incentivized via the tax code. There’s mountains of writing about it. See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/upshot/the-real-reason-the-us-has-employer-sponsored-health-insurance.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/upshot/the-real-reason-th...
pg_bot 5y ago
It's not Eisenhower's administration that's to blame, it's FDR's. Employer based healthcare is a result of the stabilization act of 1942. Health benefits were offered as incentives to workers because employers could not raise wages.
- ch4s3 5y ago
  Yeah, I realized on a second pass that I had jumbled the "middle way" stuff with the Roosevelt era bill.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > Employer based healthcare is a result of the stabilization act of 1942. Health benefits were offered as incentives to workers because employers could not raise wages. Employers can raise wages, and have been able to for some time, so that's not why we still have it. We still have it because of tax and other incentives, and because government keeps making policy decisions to protect, and even extend it (e.g., the ACA employer mandate), not because of the employers need to offer health benefits to compete because they can't offer more wages because of WWII-era wage controls.
  - nopenopenopeno 5y ago
    Employers love employer-based healthcare because it gives them insane amounts of control over their employees’ livelihoods. And as a result, wage competition is far less influential. The fear of losing healthcare coverage a severe fear that people in other countries don’t have to worry about.
    - ch4s3 5y ago
      I think a lot of employers find it to be a giant headache. It’s expensive and tricky to administer and has nothing to do with your core competency as a business.
  - pg_bot 5y ago
    I did not state that this is why we currently have employer based health insurance, just why it came into existence. Many consider this to be the "original sin" of US healthcare policy.