First, my employer did give some money to us when he stopped coverage, but Commies never allowed employers just hand over that money. The only way he could give us some of the money back was a pay increase which wasn't much because anytime your employer increases your pay, other costs increase as well. He had to deduct all those other costs before he came up with what was left over in a pay increase which wasn't very much.
Secondly, you are wrong. The limit for forced coverage is 50 full time employees--not ten. I work for a small business that has less than 12 employees- 10 of them only being full-time.
Third, employers had to provide coverage because every other employer did. Without offering some kind of healthcare plan, companies would not be able to get or keep employees. After Commie care went into effect, employers dropping coverage spread like cancer; particularly smaller businesses.
Fourth, if you make french fries or sweep floors for a living, Commie Care is great. Not so great for middle-income earners. For a crap plan, they wanted over 25% of my net pay. It came with a $7,500 out of pocket, $7,500 deductible, $50.00 doctor copay, no prescription, no dental, no eye care. Just pure waste of money. The only thing it was good for is if I got hit by a bus. Even the lady at Commie Care admitted even she couldn't afford it.
That plan sounds horrible. Appreciate your response - One thing I now realize is that state by state there is wild variation between plans. We were lucky in Idaho to have 5 competing companies offering plan the very first year and believe there are 7 now.
The one I have is called Mountain Health Co-op and it's amazing. 0 deductible, 100% free preventative including colonoscopy every few years, 5 bucks on all prescriptions, 10 co-pay on primary physician (annual physical and blood work is free) $25 on a specialist & $100 max on ER or any other hospitalization. Then the max out of pocket per year is $800 per year and then they pick up absolutely everything. Cost is a little over $650 per month and last year it paid me back at least quadruple due to a colonoscopy, a couple of specialists and an ER visit for a bad stomach flu.
I know it needs work - the biggest thing would be to open things up across state lines so you could get the same policy I have. Not sure why they can't make a few tweaks and fix it to create more competition. I know that some states have 1 option and a few have no options which sucks. Also, we're pretty lucky to have two primary providers in St Luke's and St Al's. My policy is St Luke's centric and they're huge throughout the state with dozens if not hundreds of options even on specialists.
Commie-care? I guess I can see your point of view but it's sure working for me!