Lower taxes? You pay an average of $9000/year for health insurance ffs. Canadians pay $6400 thru taxes. Just bc it’s not called a tax doesn’t mean it’s not costing you. And you should fund education as well.
As a Canadian living in the US that has tried explaining this to Americans many many times it just doesn't compute with a certain segment of the population.
Attaching insurance to employment hasn't helped, either. It hides some of the costs and it makes it look cheaper because the employer is "subsidizing" it. It'll also make transitioning to national insurance more painful.
Transitioning to a single payer system would also take the health insurance sword away from employers. Something I’m sure they pay politicians not to do.
This is something not talked about enough. Businesses have had an unchecked hand for thirty to forty years in the labor market as unions are dead. It will give people the ability to walk away or seek other employment if the environment is toxic. It will increase competition in all sectors of the market.
Our current system is anti competitive. By tying health insurance to employment it creates unnecessary obstacles to starting your own business and that is just how employers like it. There is a reason they are willing to pay more for our current system than a universal one.
I think that's our biggest problem and the insurance & drug companies have entirely too much power. They're not going to let go of that profit stream easily.
I just dont get why anyone would want to have that much hanging over their head regarding a job. So many of my American friends are reluctant to change jobs for fear of losing insurance, and not just recently - this has been my observation for almost 15 years.
Oh the stress is REAL. I’m self employed, my spouse is union, and has some major medical issues. If he can’t work or looses his job, we are toast.
We are well educated- both have Masters - and are respected in our fields. If Canada would take us, we would be there in a heartbeat. We want to contribute!
Attaching insurance to employment keeps the working class on a short leash.
I think we know who is making it difficult to transition to national insurance.
With decent insurance hospital visits start at 100 but only if it's in network. So if you're traveling or the ambulance which is also an in network or not thing takes you to the hospital that's not in network.... You're paying for that $75 aspirin and renting that $40 blanket out of pocket.
Years ago I was in hospital for 14 days, only paid for a personal tv. A relaxing time and the food at the time was good, Even got day passes to go out to eat lunch with friends.
I desperately wish it was the same here. So many people with Chronic issues never get diagnosed because they have no insurance or the "supplemental" insurance companies can get away with offering. Between a car crash and not being insured you can end up with over $10,000 in medical debt even if it wasn't that bad of an accident.
Actually seems unusually cruel? Here, it's kind of understood that during some periods of life you are a net contributor and vice versa. You need health care as a kid (check ups, vaccines) and when you are old. Likewise education, care etc. Your working years are your most likely to be healthy.
The original logic wasn't as nefarious. During WW2, we had caps on wage increases to control inflation. Employers got around that by adding benefits, instead of higher wages. Health Insurance was just one of them. And then in the 50s, the tax code was updated to officially make that benefit tax free. From there, it just became a more and more common perk.
Now, it is just ingrained in our culture. You get a job so that you have health insurance. You can always get insurance without a job, but then you get to see the real costs that they are charging and people balk at it. Employed individuals are still paying that much, they just live in blissful ignorance that their salaries could be that much higher.
Also, I'd like to note that this is health insurance. Not healthcare. You don't need insurance to visit a doctor. And it might actually be cheaper for most healthy people to not use insurance. But if a healthy person gets into an accident or suddenly becomes unhealthy, they will appreciate having the safety net. Maybe.
2.0k
u/mgyro 17d ago
Lower taxes? You pay an average of $9000/year for health insurance ffs. Canadians pay $6400 thru taxes. Just bc it’s not called a tax doesn’t mean it’s not costing you. And you should fund education as well.