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yep! our health benefits via hubby's employer are getting more and more expensive with higher deductibles. next year, they are moving toward those health savings accounts where I have to carry around some kind of debit card when we go to the doctor ... it's all so confusing. I remember when I entered the workforce in the 1990's, it was easy peasy ... $10 co-pay, $5 drugs, boom, done ... I miss those days. With our family of 5 (3 kids under 10) ... this is going to stink.
Well if your income is under 88k, you will qualify for Medicaid... funny... cause I never thought 88k was poor but whatever...
your auto insurance may not be tied to your job, but it is tied to your type of car , and your driving history (ie risk)(accidents/tickets)
so by your anecdote, you want health insurance cost directly related to the risk..... yep there will be no pre-existing clause, but you will pay through the nose
And also tied to your credit rating, and your age and the history of the rest of the drivers in your age group and with similar credit.
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Originally Posted by Sagran
None. That's what workman's comp insurance is for. Totally separate type of insurance.
Isn't Workmen's Comp government insurance already? Maybe we could eliminate that under the program you outlined thus saving the employer even more.
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Originally Posted by evilnewbie
Well if your income is under 88k, you will qualify for Medicaid... funny... cause I never thought 88k was poor but whatever...
Where is this? I believe each state sets its own poverty levels. That's why the states are objecting to federal mandate for raising medicaid limits. It adds to the state's financial burden.
[quote=southward bound;12142068]
Isn't Workmen's Comp government insurance already? Maybe we could eliminate that under the program you outlined thus saving the employer even more.
Workman's comp is purchased by the employer by an insurance company forced to by the government. I owned a small bsiness once. Been there, done that. Small business are being forced out daily by taxes and regulations. Fortunatly I sold out before being taxed out.
... and I'm sure every employer, freed from the chains of providing affordable insurance to their employees would suddenly drop the price of their products 15% and give everyone a raise.
Why? Cause he would pocket that money himself... is this what you are advocating, making the richer and the poor, even more poor? Low salaries and no insurance? Isn't that what Medicaid is for? He is pushing the burden on the people while he enjoys the wealth that belongs to the workers? Do you work for Enron?
Of course he would pocket the money. His rationale is to bring down the cost of goods and services sold by the employer. All the consumers who buy those goods and services are paying for the insurance for those employees. It doesn't matter how much income the consumer has, it doesn't matter if the consumer is paying out of his pocket for mandated insurance, he still pays for the insurance of those employees who have employer provided insurance.
The poor don't have employer provided health insurance, at least not anything affordable or worth the money that's paid for it. Medicaid? Research how poor you have to be and who is eligible for it in your state. If you think Medicaid covers all the poor people, you are woefully mistaken.
Like I said, if everyone is mandated to have insurance and those without employer provided insurance are forced to dig into their pockets to buy their own, eliminate employer provided insurance and stop forcing consumers to subsidize the insurance for people whose employers jack up prices to pay for that insurance. Make everyone dig into his own pocket. Let everyone find out how much it costs to provide insurance for a family. Let everyone live with the coverage he can afford, not the coverage his boss can pay for by jacking up prices. Then and only then will you see people working to control the cost of medical care which is a major contributor to insurance costs. Then we will have health care reform.
Steve Forbes is right. We, as a nation, can't keep completing in the world market with employer based insurance built into the cost of all the goods we produce. A good universal health care program would level the playing field so that our products can be priced more competitively with other industrialized countries that already do have a universal health care in place.
Well I enjoy employer provided health insurance. Its part of our benefit package just like our profit sharing. The idea that employers should not be allowed to provide benefits is more than a bit appalling in my book. The company I work for has been around for nearly 150 years and has always been known for its benefits for employees.
So no health isnsurance?
Should we end profit sharing as well because some folks don't have that?
What about paid sick days?
What about paid vacation days?
These are all expensive benefits and cut into a company's profit margin. In the industry that I am in we are the #1 product. Meaning that although our product costs more than our competion we still out sell the rest.
No I would rather keep my private employer sponsored health care than trust Pelosi or some other corrupt politician who also happens to enjoy the best employer provided health insurance in the country, to decide for me.
Steve Forbes has long said that the American employer needs to get out of the health insurance business. He says the cost to employers is hurting the country, helping to make our products too expensive to compete in the world market. He has long used the figure that each employee costs the employer $10,000/year for insurance. He believes that health insurance should be the responsibility of the individual not the employer.
I agree with Steve Forbes about the problem but my solution is different. I want national health care. We don't have national health care and we aren't going to get it. That's clear. Instead, we apparently are going to have a mandatory insurance law. In light of that, I have to completely agree with Steve Forbes. The employers of America need to get out of the insurance business.
1. With mandatory coverage, those with employer provided insurance are paying less out-of-pocket and allowing the cost to be passed off on the consumer causing higher prices. Those without employer provided insurance are paying totally out-of-pocket while also paying the higher prices required to subsidize those with employer provided insurance. Those with employer based insurance aren't paying for themselves as others are forced to.
2. If those with employer provided insurance have to carry their own private insurance, they will see just how much insurance costs. The cost of insurance is based primarily on the cost of health care. Having to pay for the product themselves, the consumer will become more aware of costs and become a better consumer. Health care costs will go down.
For those reasons, if we are going to have mandatory insurance laws, I call for the ban on employer provided insurance.
Of course he would pocket the money. His rationale is to bring down the cost of goods and services sold by the employer. All the consumers who buy those goods and services are paying for the insurance for those employees. It doesn't matter how much income the consumer has, it doesn't matter if the consumer is paying out of his pocket for mandated insurance, he still pays for the insurance of those employees who have employer provided insurance.
The poor don't have employer provided health insurance, at least not anything affordable or worth the money that's paid for it. Medicaid? Research how poor you have to be and who is eligible for it in your state. If you think Medicaid covers all the poor people, you are woefully mistaken.
Like I said, if everyone is mandated to have insurance and those without employer provided insurance are forced to dig into their pockets to buy their own, eliminate employer provided insurance and stop forcing consumers to subsidize the insurance for people whose employers jack up prices to pay for that insurance. Make everyone dig into his own pocket. Let everyone find out how much it costs to provide insurance for a family. Let everyone live with the coverage he can afford, not the coverage his boss can pay for by jacking up prices. Then and only then will you see people working to control the cost of medical care which is a major contributor to insurance costs. Then we will have health care reform.
Bring down costs of goods? Are you freaking kidding me? Do I look stupid to believe that line? Lets see... gas prices went up, groceries went up, everything went up... gas prices went down, all the prices stayed the same... hm... Prices NEVER go down, I don't buy that if health insurance was paid by employees that prices go down... please, find some other idiot to believe that line... every company will price gouge you as much as they can regardless of whether they have to pay health insurance or not... last time I check, hamburgers are almost double because of the gas prices... they don't pay health insurance at fast food joints and their prices are still overinflated... they charge whatever you are willing to pay, not because they have to pay health insurance... so use the bogus line somewhere... that's one of the worst lies ever told to a consumer... bring down prices... pfftt.. whatever..
... and I'm sure every employer, freed from the chains of providing affordable insurance to their employees would suddenly drop the price of their products 15% and give everyone a raise.
Sure they would.
What does that have to do with anything? If dropping prices is what it takes to compete on the world market, Steve Forbes says they would. My issue is that people who buy those products are paying for the employees insurance. Some of those people will be paying for mandated medical insurance out of their own pockets so they would be paying for their own and helping to pay for the insurance of those who have employer provided insurance. They are paying for their own plus those freeloading rich folks with employer provided insurance.
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