The Threat to Wages from the Status Quo
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Since 1999 (through 2008), total premiums paid by employers for family employee sponsored health insurance has risen 119%; and the portion paid by the employees themselves has gone up 117%. And the smaller the firm you work for, the less likely you are to keep your coverage. In addition, out-of-pocket costs for employees have also gone up.
You know all of this already, but look at that graph. See the increased portions that employers pay? This is one of the major reasons why wages (except for bankers) are relatively flat. It is also a reason why some smaller firms either downsize to maintain insurance or they stop offering it altogether. Every extra dollar that you and/or your employer spend to keep up with insurance rates that are rising at a faster pace than inflation — rising at a faster pace than most people’s salaries — is a dollar that your employer can’t give you as a raise. Or a dollar that you can’t spend to put a new roof on your house.
This is the status quo that repubs and their teabagging armies want to keep in place. A world where your compensation is captive to the costs of medical insurance. Without a fix — even the beginning of a fix — these numbers do not slow down. And at what point does our economy become completely hostage to medical insurance and medical expenses?
Tags: Health Insurance Reform
Great article. The health insurance premium captivity also hurts the economy because it suppresses entrepreneurship. New ventures which fuel the economy don’t get started because the potential risk of living without health insurance is too high.
Yes, Jason, I wonder how many people are afraid to leave their jobs and start a business because they’re afraid of losing their health insurance?
I can help you out, roughly 30% of workers stay at their current job for benefits.
Health insurance must be independent of employment. We are choking off innovation because of our ridiculous rules on health care.
Dollars from your employer are great, but the source of care should not be tied to your job.
Republicans support reform which will work not this pipe dream rejected by the Mayo Clinic and the CBO. Again, go to the Wyden/Bennett bill in the Senate. Much better than Obama care which is DOA. At the state level we could do something like Delacare we had at the state level.
http://delawarerepublican.wordpress.com/drtv/
Mike Protack
If we fail to reform our health care system this year, a major reason will be that a majority of Americans are satisfied with their health coverage and believe that reform could hurt them. According to a recent (unscientific) Consumer Reports survey, 64 percent of readers are satisfied with their plans — down from 67 percent in 2007, but still a clear majority. A recent New York Times poll found that 59 percent of Americans do not think that health-care reform will benefit them personally; 69 percent are concerned that reform could harm the quality of their own care and 68 percent are concerned that it could limit their access to treatment.
Baseline Scenario
Wow, well you address the fact that the current system will hurt them and hinder them even worse as shown in the above graphic. All that survey proves is that people are stupid and not bothering to pay attention because they haven’t lost a _____ (insert appendage, child’s name, spouses name, family member name etc.) due to the fact that they could either not keep insurance or insurance would not pay enough of the expenses. Plus add in the fact that at this growth rate people will start to see the affects of the inability for thier wages to keep up with basic needs due to having to keep up with health care payments. Those that are paying attention are discussing the issues and understand that to do nothing is to just wait for the bomb to drop and then really put us in dire straits. Actually, maybe that is what this site should be advocating since if everything stays the same and goes to hell the public outrage for a govt system will be mind blowingly overwhelming. And if any of you idiot trolls claim that government healthcare is bad then please try to explain the nutjobs in your ranks that have and willingly except/try to die for Medicare as well as the entire VA system.
Also, check out http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=674 to discover the issues with the Wyden Bennett bill.
No Mike we aint doin no damn Delacare! You repukes are mind blowin! You wanted to have a “universal plan” Protack and then let the for profits run it. Give us a frickin break. Of course, if you were Guvnor you would get to pick the for profit. Always lookin ahead huh Mike!