Current Healthcare System Inhibits Entrepreneurship

[Toro]

Sherrill St. Germain, a financial planner in Hollis, N.H. with a lot experience in the field, says the big issue for many clients is losing group health insurance. "That's the thing that keeps them stuck," she says. "That's the deal-breaker." Say what you will about healthcare reform: The present system is a huge drag on economic mobility and entrepreneurship.

How Much Money Do You Need for Early Retirement? - WSJ.com

 

[Diuretic]

I've wondered long about why health insurance has been linked to employment in the US. I don't get it. For a start it's an impost on the employer but also I reckon employees are paying for it anyway. If a union were to enter a collective bargaining session knowing that health insurance benefits weren't in the mix and that the employer wasn't carrying the burden then surely they could bargain for a percentage of that money put aside by the employer for health insurance for employees?

Health care should be a social, not a private, cost.

Okay, Dambusters motto inserted here -

 

[auditor0007]

And with costs continuing to rise above the rate of inflation, it will continue to put a drag on employers. Making employers responsible for our healthcare is the worst thing we ever did.

 

[saveliberty]

I've wondered long about why health insurance has been linked to employment in the US. I don't get it. For a start it's an impost on the employer but also I reckon employees are paying for it anyway. If a union were to enter a collective bargaining session knowing that health insurance benefits weren't in the mix and that the employer wasn't carrying the burden then surely they could bargain for a percentage of that money put aside by the employer for health insurance for employees?

Health care should be a social, not a private, cost.

Okay, Dambusters motto inserted here -

It takes money to fund health care. People with jobs tend to have money more than the unemployed. Not that long ago, it was felt that working people were important to society and should be rewarded for their contributions.

Get at least one thing straight. Government will NOT pay for health care. It will be those with money, including both the rich and working.

 

[Polk]

I've wondered long about why health insurance has been linked to employment in the US. I don't get it.

It started out during the Second World War. Since companies were barred from increasing pay due to wartime wage controls, they began offering things like health insurance as compensation. This became much more valuable after an IRS panel at the time made the decision that the employer-paid premiums should not be considered income for the purpose of taxation. Attempts in the 1950s to count the employer payment as income were overwritten by Congress, which made the previous administrative ruling part of the tax code.

 

[Old Rocks]

I've wondered long about why health insurance has been linked to employment in the US. I don't get it. For a start it's an impost on the employer but also I reckon employees are paying for it anyway. If a union were to enter a collective bargaining session knowing that health insurance benefits weren't in the mix and that the employer wasn't carrying the burden then surely they could bargain for a percentage of that money put aside by the employer for health insurance for employees?

Health care should be a social, not a private, cost.

Okay, Dambusters motto inserted here -

It takes money to fund health care. People with jobs tend to have money more than the unemployed. Not that long ago, it was felt that working people were important to society and should be rewarded for their contributions.

Get at least one thing straight. Government will NOT pay for health care. It will be those with money, including both the rich and working.

What the hell made you think that anyone thought otherwise? Consider how it is paid for in Japan. In Canada. In Switzerland, and France. More than one way to skin this cat.

Point is, we are paying far to much for what we get.

 

[xsited1]

Sherrill St. Germain, a financial planner in Hollis, N.H. with a lot experience in the field, says the big issue for many clients is losing group health insurance. "That's the thing that keeps them stuck," she says. "That's the deal-breaker." Say what you will about healthcare reform: The present system is a huge drag on economic mobility and entrepreneurship.

How Much Money Do You Need for Early Retirement? - WSJ.com

I wouldn't call it a huge drag, but I agree there are tax advantages to being employed with health insurance. There are many, many options for the self-employed, including group plans. The problem is that most people forget that part of their salary includes health insurance and just think that they can't make more as, say, a consultant. And once self-employed, the number of options increase greatly and you don't have to pay for extra insurance that you don't need. The tax code should be changed.

Self-Employment Health Insurance Tax Deduction

 

[Old Rocks]

Sherrill St. Germain, a financial planner in Hollis, N.H. with a lot experience in the field, says the big issue for many clients is losing group health insurance. "That's the thing that keeps them stuck," she says. "That's the deal-breaker." Say what you will about healthcare reform: The present system is a huge drag on economic mobility and entrepreneurship.

How Much Money Do You Need for Early Retirement? - WSJ.com

I wouldn't call it a huge drag, but I agree there are tax advantages to being employed with health insurance. There are many, many options for the self-employed, including group plans. The problem is that most people forget that part of their salary includes health insurance and just think that they can't make more as, say, a consultant. And once self-employed, the number of options increase greatly and you don't have to pay for extra insurance that you don't need. The tax code should be changed.

Self-Employment Health Insurance Tax Deduction

Sure, that is really an option for most people that work. Wow, pretty lamebrained.

A health care insurance plan that was independent of one's employment, one that one would not lose because of pink slip, would be a real boon for working families. Just the prevention of the hundreds of thousands of families that go bankrupt every year because of medical bills would vastly improve the economy. And well over 50% of the families had health insurance. What does that say about our system?