<p>This is not necessarily a bad thing per se, once the guaranteed issue individual plans through the exchanges are available for purchase. Indeed, unlinking medical insurance from employment can improve the efficiency of both markets, which pro-market types should favor (note that some of the proposals floated by opponents of PPACA were intended to give a push in this direction).</p>
<p>However, if the employers drop the medical insurance without a corresponding increase in pay or other compensation, that would be effectively a reduction in compensation, which certainly would not go over too well with the affected employees.</p>
<p>The thing that is confusing about the article is that it doesn’t distinguish clearly between spouses dropped now if they have other coverage versus those who will be dropped next year when the exchanges are supposed to be operational.</p>
<p>The issue of holding workers to part time status is a big issue for this reason and it is occurring in unexpected places, such as unionized positions. </p>
<p>But, you know, it’s a good thing the law was passed because we can now see what is in it. Seems some people found difficulties they didn’t expect. Funny how that works.</p>
<p>“Indeed, unlinking medical insurance from employment can improve the efficiency of both markets, which pro-market types should favor…”</p>
<p>I have never understood why the business community wouldn’t be the biggest lobby for single payer. Makes no sense to me that they are not and that most don’t even support ACA.</p>
<p>I am always amazed that everybody is so concerned about health coverage, not so much that it is needed, but how much everybody seems to use it. I am 54, and have not been to a “Dr.” in 23 years, when my D was born. I have been to a clinic to get all my numbers taken. Unless you have a family predisposition to a certain problem and you feel fine, why do you all go to the Dr. all the time? I have family members that go all the time, and I think they “find” things to be sick or wrong. </p>
<p>I may feel this way as I have never had health insurance so I have never just gone to the dr. for just small things.</p>
<p>GA2012, how are you going to pay for you medical expenses if you get in a car crash tomorrow and are seriously injured? Or if you found out you have cancer? Or have a heart attack? </p>
<p>I think those types of things are why most of us have and want to keep having health insurance.</p>
<p>I don’t go to the doctor’s very often. Mostly for my annual check-ups.</p>
<p>I do think that the healthcare system is over-used (my last checkup was around 2005) but there are conditions that are costly. One of my nieces has a very expensive condition and I’m sure that all of us that don’t use medical services subsidize others that do.</p>
<p>We could get hit by car, bus, get cancer, diabetes, lyme disease, etc. We can do things to decrease risk but we can’t eliminate it.</p>
<p>GA, its fine by me if you want to have no insurance. But if you come down with something major, please don’t complain that insurance companies won’t take you. I can’t tell you how many people felt the same way then call from a hospital bed trying to buy insurance. </p>
<p>If everyone only bought insurance even they needed it there would be no point to having it at all. You’d essentially be self paying everything as there would be no premiums from the people not using it to keep the prices down.</p>
<p>GA, it was through a routine check-up that they found my mom’s illness. She was in VERY early stages and didn’t even think she had any symptoms. She wouldn’t have shown symptoms until it was fairly far along at which point it would have been much harder to treat. </p>
<p>Yearly check-ups are important. They really are.</p>
<p>I have no insurance at the moment and it terrifies me. I’m literally picking a grad school based on the fact that they’re giving me health insurance.</p>
<p>While the fact that medical insurance plans commonly cover the small stuff creates incentives for overuse, as well as additional bureaucratic costs (how much paperwork between the provider and insurance company occurs when you get a $30 flu shot that is covered under the insurance plan?), it is desirable to have insurance for catastrophic-level costs (why most people buy other kinds of insurance).</p>
<p>I don’t mind having a catastrophic level plan and self-paying the smaller stuff. But it is often not an option in the limited menu of plans that employers that offer medical insurance often have. One of the problems of linking medical insurance to employment is that most people have very little choice of medical insurance plans because their employers offer very little choice.</p>
<p>I don’t know how to respond to all of you. I am VERY low income and couldn’t afford health insurance if I wanted it. I am just greatfull for the good health I have had over the years. I have a daughter who is in medschool now who is concerned for the uninsured, and will be working for a nonprofit this summer that gives healthcare to the homeless.
She knows firsthand how it is not to have healthcare.</p>
<p>Not necessarily yearly (specific recommendations vary for the different kinds of things being screened for, as well as the person’s age and gender), though persons with known risk factors for a particular problem may need checkups for that problem more often than most people.</p>
<p>UCB, I actually take a high deductible catastrophic plan offered by my employer. The out of pocket max is similar to the low deductible plans and I save on the premium each paycheck. They also give us a cash incentive in a hsa to go with this plan. I wonder if other companies will start doing the same thing. </p>
<p>We also get discounts on any plan for taking part in different health programs. It works out to fifty a month off if you meet the requirements. Example being one month you may get fifty off for being a non smoker, or if you are a smoker and agree to take part in smoking cessation classes. I think i spelled that wrong. They also recently started free check up each year on site. Complete with blood work. The goal is to get people to better manage their health and hopefully reduce costs.</p>
<p>One of the little surprises in the ACA is that there is a not insignificant number of people for whom it would be cheaper to pay the fine than to purchase the required coverage. Which will be problematic for rates because they will not be paying in when healthy but can instead opt in when they need expensive services because they can’t be denied at that point.</p>
<p>I work for the state in part because of our health insurance benefits (it sure as heck isn’t for the pay!) If the state were to “carve out spouses,” we would really be hurting, since my H is the one who has health problems and needs good insurance. He works for our local mental health center and they have a $5000 single and $10,000 family deductible for abysmal coverage. We, too, get discounts for not smoking and other incentives, but unfortunately S1 smokes like a freight train. I’ll be glad when he gets his own - at the very least he’s going to start paying us the $50 difference after he graduates.</p>
<p>Btw, it’s an interesting historical accident that we have employer based system. At the start of World War II, the economy was booming but there were salary freezes. In order to attract employees, companies began offering health insurance as a benefit that would not be counted as salary.</p>
<p>We spend at least twice per-capita as our nation peers, with the worst public health statistical results. Those who study comparative health care systems conclude that no one system works best. The key to quality seems to be offering care on a non-profit basis. The Swiss have an insurance company based system, but each company is mandated to offer a non-profit plan that meets minimum standards. Don’t know if there is a Swiss chocolate benefit.</p>
<p>Again, precisely the argument which was used in Massachusetts. Yet it turns out 98% of Massachusetts residents would rather pay for insurance than pay the fine. People WANT affordable insurance.</p>
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<p>This is exactly why the individual mandate is necessary.</p>
<p>My insurance is Cigna and they won’t cover spouses who are eligible thru their own employers. Interesting. Is the next step for them, too, going to be dropping spouses altogether.
This mess just gets messier and messier.</p>