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Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

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Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#31

Post by lotsofpulp »

throwaway_law wrote: post #23
tempsy wrote: post #10

Yep, and what people don't always realize is that because employer health plans get more expensive every year for employers, it negatively impacts wage growth. You are paying for it even if you don't necessarily feel it.

But the individual policies on the exchange have increased year over year as well, and a lot of those insurers on the exchange went out of business/disappeared after 2-3 years anyway. (from 2017-2018 for example insurance on the exchange increased 32% for silver plans and 20% for Gold plans)

What does that have to do with what tempsy wrote?

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#32

Post by taurath »

throwawaysea wrote: post #19

The entire health insurance industry makes ~$25B in profits a year, correct? That doesn't seem overly large considering it is the entire insurance industry.

You can pay execs $100mm a year and have that not be profit. This is why they lobby so hard.

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#33

Post by jnwatson »

vkou wrote: post #21
ceejayoz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The average health insurance monthly premium for individuals is a couple hundred dollars ($321 in 2017 per https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/23/heres-how-much-the-average-a... ; it'll be higher now). $10 or $100/month both mean the employer is chipping in a bunch, they're subsidized via the exchange due to low income, or they've got absolutely garbage coverage that won't actually pay for anything significant. This is why…

My wife just took a job at a place that has a 'good' health insurance plan. If she opted into it, her contribution would be ~$300/month, her employer's contribution would be $900/month. If she wanted to cover me with it, her contribution would be $1,500/month, and her employer's would be $900/month. Unsurprisingly, we did not take advantage of this, and she remains on my insurance (Since my employer handles 90% of th…

I think you made a typo. $9000 a month is a small company’s entire cost.

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#34

Post by throwaway_law »

ceejayoz wrote: post #18
throwaway_law wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this statement all the time...but what does it mean? If employers didn't provide health insurance to employees wouldn't we just wind up with 40% of the insured uninsured? Its not like Corporate America is going to make up the difference and start paying cash to compensate for the lost benefit, at least thats what happened as pensions got stripped away from the workplace. Even if the employer's did make up the…

> individuals can't negotiate individual insurance rates, pools of employees can negotiate group rates, so if anything costs would probably go up This is why the exchanges exist. They're huge pools of people on a group rate. New York state negotiates with insurers on my behalf, and is additionally able to regulate their premium increases each year.

Who is in charge of negotiating for this pool? Just as an example between 2017-2018 the average silver plan went up 32% and the average gold plan 20%, who the hell negotiated that?

At least with the employer provided insurance the employer is negotiating, and you know who that is and you know they have a self-interest in keeping costs down.

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#35

Post by ceejayoz »

coldcode wrote: post #29

In no other country is your healthcare tied to your employment but the US. Germany has had a national healthcare system since around 1880 (after the country was unified, based on what Krupp did for their employees). Why is the US the outlier (also in cost per capita)?

The US system arose during WWII. Wages were frozen, so health coverage became a perk to attract workers. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/upshot/the-real-reason-th...

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#36

Post by sampo »

throwaway_law wrote: post #14
badrequest wrote: post #5

The sooner we can completely divorce healthcare from employment, the better.

I hear this statement all the time...but what does it mean? If employers didn't provide health insurance to employees wouldn't we just wind up with 40% of the insured uninsured? Its not like Corporate America is going to make up the difference and start paying cash to compensate for the lost benefit, at least thats what happened as pensions got stripped away from the workplace. Even if the employer's did make up the…

> I hear this statement all the time...but what does it mean?

Something like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_King...

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#38

Post by throwaway_law »

tempsy wrote: post #28
throwaway_law wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the individual policies on the exchange have increased year over year as well, and a lot of those insurers on the exchange went out of business/disappeared after 2-3 years anyway. (from 2017-2018 for example insurance on the exchange increased 32% for silver plans and 20% for Gold plans)

I don't understand what that has to do my comment. I never mentioned anything about the exchanges. Health insurance policies generally get more expensive year over year for everyone, whether an employer is paying for it or you as an individual.

You seem to be highlighting employer provided insurance costs increase (which they do), but historically they increase at a lower rate than individual plans (i.e. the alternative).

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#39

Post by Pfhreak »

badrequest wrote: post #5

The sooner we can completely divorce healthcare from employment, the better.

Do you think that companies would give you a raise equivalent to what they were paying on your behalf for healthcare? I suspect not.

I mean, it's one thing if we moved to a single payer system, which would be great, but just moving out of the employer's hands and into the general public seems like a disaster. (Also, I am not a fan of the employer healthcare model.)

Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier

#40

Post by ceejayoz »

throwaway_law wrote: post #34
ceejayoz wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> individuals can't negotiate individual insurance rates, pools of employees can negotiate group rates, so if anything costs would probably go up This is why the exchanges exist. They're huge pools of people on a group rate. New York state negotiates with insurers on my behalf, and is additionally able to regulate their premium increases each year.

Who is in charge of negotiating for this pool? Just as an example between 2017-2018 the average silver plan went up 32% and the average gold plan 20%, who the hell negotiated that? At least with the employer provided insurance the employer is negotiating, and you know who that is and you know they have a self-interest in keeping costs down.

Plans jumped in 2017-2018 because insurers had to factor in the possibility of Obamacare repeal.

Last year saw a drop (down 1.5% in the 39 states using Healthcare.gov), and 2020 looks small thus far as well. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/03/obamacare-rate-hik...

I, quite frankly, trust my state more than my employer in a fight against my insurer. I obtain coverage via the NY exchange.

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