Nailed it. The tying of healthcare to one's job is its primary problem in the USA. This idiotic relationship arose because of incompetent legislation during WWI

Nailed it. The tying of healthcare to one's job is its primary problem in the USA. This idiotic relationship arose because of incompetent legislation during WWII that was never fixed. The government applied wage caps, but failed to anticipate employers' substitution of "benefits" for wages. So companies sweetened the pot with health insurance to work around wage caps, and the government neglected to close that loophole. Huge and disastrous mistake. Today, millions of Americans are deluded into thinking that their "employer-provided" insurance is free. Because the true cost is buried in pay-stub line items that nobody looks at (if it's even required to be there; I don't know), it's huge. This "system" serves corporations, not people. Big companies get a workforce replete with people chained to dead-end jobs by their healthcare; insurance companies get fat, fat payouts; and small businesses and individuals get screwed. My best friend runs a small business in the USA that actually makes things in a factory and employs people. Why the hell should be be an insurance broker as well? And if you're self-employed... Obamacare is the only thing saving your ass. And if your income isn't in the sweet spot, it's not really affordable either. So we are really screwed hard. You'll never get Republicans to defy their corporate owners and lobbyists to reform this shitshow, nor will you get their base to comprehend that they're being ripped off and demand such reform. Employer-funded insurance should be taxed out of existence and replaced by employer-provided CHILD CARE. Now that's something that keeps people out of the workforce and actually makes sense for an employer to provide.