December 10, 2008
On Health Insurances
... and here I was. The only one, I thought, who rants and raves to his co-workers about the employee-provided health insurance fetish that American workers are accustomed to.
There's much too much to excerpt here.
Why Tie Health Insurance to a Job?: One thing we can all agree on is that portable coverage is more secure.
I come at this topic from the 1099 perspective. As a sole-proprietor, I pay all those "benefits" out of pocket. Health insurance, retirement, "social security" benefits, etc. But I own those products, and they are portable to me, and I can select the level of coverage that suits me.
Your company doesn't pay your car or homeowner's insurance. Why should it cover a trip to the doctor?
Health Care Posted by AlexC at December 10, 2008 11:20 AM
It's not the heat, it's the demagoguery!
Both President Bush and Senator McCain had excellent proposals to make it tax-neutral to buy your own insurance, ending the bias that preserves the current system. President Bush even understood the plan.
"Senator McCain wants to tax your health benefits for the first time ever!" screamed the ads. I salute Wyden for coauthoring this piece (Maybe Sen. Salazar is not the least worst Democrat), but the American voters did not select tax neutrality; President-elect Obama and HHS Secretary Daschle are not looking for free-market reforms. Everybody relying on business or government is a nice foundation for the upcoming power grab.
Posted by: jk at December 10, 2008 12:50 PMGood piece all-around. He mentions that it's government tax policies that artificially cheapen company-subsidized health insurance, because buying your own insurance is with after-tax dollars. That's the chief point.
As I've pointed out before, Americans' typical thinking that "I might as well use the coverage I have" is a big factor in driving up health care costs. Supply and demand. Someone figures he's covered for $X a year, so he'll use every penny. The insurer then has to raise rates, and people stupidly wonder why they're paying higher premiums. They think they can get $X worth of health care per year when their premiums are lower.
I just signed up for my employer's new high-deductible plan, which is mostly what I've been waiting for. It makes me "eligible" for an HSA account. Yeah. "Eligible" to save my money, tax-free, by jumping through the hoops that government holds up.
Posted by: Perry Eidelbus at December 10, 2008 2:04 PMThe Ownership Society in action, Perry!
Actually, I would dig an HSA. I have a "flex-plan" which is the same deal, only there are more hoops and if I don't spend as much as I've saved in a single year (only a government program) I am penalized by losing the difference. Boom.
Posted by: jk at December 10, 2008 2:17 PMoh, i'm also for removing automatic withholding taxes from W-2 employees.
you should get a bill from your government, or be prepared to estimate your tax payment.
but the government fears that.
Posted by: AlexC at December 10, 2008 4:37 PM | What do you think? [4]