News, Employee Benefits Are Disappearing Before Your Very Eyes
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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,340 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57351
Both Democrats and Republicans are motivated far more by defeating the other party than what's best for the people. It has always been that way but has gotten far worse over the last 10 years or so. That is the cause of most problems in this country. My employer the last 5 years has been paying more every year toward the cost, but what we get for it is less.
I cannot blame them for that, at least all of our other benefits have been unaffected.
What the health care market needed is more competition. Hospitals compete on location, the latest and greatest tool they just bought, notoriety of physicians, reputation in a certain aspect of medicine, etc, but never on price. Have you ever seen two hospitals competing with each other on the price of a quadruple bypass? Would they even compete on the price of an inpatient meal?
The demand for many medical services is fairly inelastic - there will always be a certain, fairly predictable demand for lifesaving heart surgery, and you will pay any price for it. That's part of the problem, but it can't be helped. People can reduce the likelihood of trouble through diet, exercise, and preventive care, but the trend is for these conditions to increase. No one is going to say "no" when they need a Level 1 trauma center because it "costs too much."
In my hometown, I believe there are only two companies that run all the hospitals in the greater area. You have oligopoly. They collude, not compete.
Even simple issues cost a considerable amount. Why should it cost $600 to get two inhalers, a ten minute visit, and some antibiotics to treat bronchitis? It's absurd.
"Health insurance" often isn't even insurance in the traditional sense. The owner of a home that has extra earthquake insurance may, and probably never will, need this coverage. A person may buy additional auto insurance coverage, but may never wreck their car or anyone else's. One is far more likely to need medical services than any other phenomenon you would insure against. Unless you just suddenly die when healthy (traffic fatality, murdered, etc), you will need medical care.
What "health insurance" as currently constructed is is little more than a system where you pay monthly dues in order to get medical services at a "discounted rate." Tying this to employment is senseless (does health insurance have any logical link to employment like vacation or telecommuting policies?) and bidirectionally burdensome (expense and administrative overhead for employers, loss of job means loss of health insurance for employees).
What "health insurance" as currently constructed is is little more than a system where you pay monthly dues in order to get medical services at a "discounted rate." Tying this to employment is senseless (does health insurance have any logical link to employment like vacation or telecommuting policies?) and bidirectionally burdensome (expense and administrative overhead for employers, loss of job means loss of health insurance for employees).
I agree. Yet another reason why we need single-payer universal healthcare that is NOT tied to employment, funded through taxes.
"Whining" is an overused and meaningless buzzword that is used by bullies like you anytime somebody says something that you don't agree with.
Moderator cut: orphaned
Send me a PM and we can talk. Your background could easily give you a career making 2-3x as much money as you do now, while working 40 hour weeks. I can help you, if you stopped seeing anything as 'employment' as an evil.
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