> I always believed you should be able to qualify for lower costs (or be charged higher) depending on how you take care of yourself. Annual physical fitness test. I'm a little sick and tired of paying high premiums for people to have healthcare that don't take care of themselves.
Better hope you never get in a car accident or similar accident or get diagnosed with cancer or a chronic condition.
Congratulations for being in perfect health and not needing any sort of medical care. There are plenty of people who don't smoke and aren't obese and can still be bankrupt by standard medical treatments.
I would bet money (let's say the value of my annual insurance premiums) that if the two of us took a physical fitness test or compared overall "health" in areas that are more controllable (weigh, cholesterol, body fat percentage, amount of exercise, and other indicators like smoking/drug/alcohol use), I would be considered healthier than you.
But I have an endocrine condition that requires very expensive medication and annual tests that cost a lot of money.
You're selfish, and that's fine. But the second you ever actually need health care, I hope you remember how quickly you dismiss "people who don't take care of themselves."
This isn't universal and it's also not inclusive of those people who have spouses/partners or children/other dependents. Your employer may cover your premium (or most of it), but it won't always cover those of your dependents at the same percentage.
And I say this as a person who is, with few exceptions, healthy. But medications for common conditions and emergencies , can radically change the cost of all of this.
> Not to mention the millions of people locked into careers they would otherwise get out of, if not for the health coverage.
Replying with a throwaway for obvious reasons. I work at one of the big tech companies -- I'm paid well, but the benefits are very good. I just got an offer from a startup that I really like. It's a job I would like to take.
I'm going to have to turn down the offer. Part of the reason I'm going to have to turn it down is that even though it offers insurance, its coverage isn't as good as what I have and the subsidy offered will add $15k a year minimum to my health care expenses. My partner needs surgery (an expensive surgery), and I'm the primary bread-winner (for now) -- I have to make pragmatic decisions because of stuff like healthcare, even at the expense of my own aspirations.
And to be clear, my scenario is significantly better than so many others who are stuck in truly terrible places (where I work is not terrible by a longshot) or in careers they would like to change, because the truth is, health care in the US is a joke.
Insurance on healthcare.gov is really not bad - just get $20k more from startup and buy your own insurance. Assuming idiot republicans don’t fuck it up in the next few months.
Even if the current employer is big enough to negotiate lower prices or deals for its coverage and that's a barrier to entry for the startup, both companies could be set one a level field in a universal healthcare system removing this cost center from both companies. Even if the cost is (partially) rolled into something like payroll or income taxes, it would still impact the big company and the startup much more equitably.
Barriers to entry are one item this site and many of its users and are fighting to better disrupt industries and create value. If you can't get talent because you can't provide healthcare and a solution for that exists in most developed nations (universal care), why are we not engaging that?
Large employers are self insured. The insurance companies just manage the benefits. In that sense there is no negotiation, beyond a manager fee. Price is determined by health of employees and benefit level.
I'm assuming the unspoken point here is that, after negotiation, the startup couldn't make up for enough of the difference for the parent to be able to seriously consider them.
Better hope you never get in a car accident or similar accident or get diagnosed with cancer or a chronic condition.
Congratulations for being in perfect health and not needing any sort of medical care. There are plenty of people who don't smoke and aren't obese and can still be bankrupt by standard medical treatments.
I would bet money (let's say the value of my annual insurance premiums) that if the two of us took a physical fitness test or compared overall "health" in areas that are more controllable (weigh, cholesterol, body fat percentage, amount of exercise, and other indicators like smoking/drug/alcohol use), I would be considered healthier than you.
But I have an endocrine condition that requires very expensive medication and annual tests that cost a lot of money.
You're selfish, and that's fine. But the second you ever actually need health care, I hope you remember how quickly you dismiss "people who don't take care of themselves."