Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
Just a small point, but I'm guessing she's read some of this.
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Well you cannot tell from her posting. These problems have been studied and are continuing to be studied and there are many potential solutions. The problem is that no one is trying to implement them and Congress isn't helping by keeping the incentives to have employer based health plans. Employer based health plans are not a great idea because of the disconnect between the healthcare consumer and the financing of the healthcare.
When you get employer based healthcare, you are paying for it by getting a lower salary. Employers factor in the total cost of an employee (salary + benefits) when they hire. So the employer pays less in salary when the benefits cost more. But that is a cost to the employee that the employee doesn't feel in the short term.
Moreover, the employer has different incentives when negotiating with healthplans than an employee would have.
Ty is right. Our healthcare system is fraught with market failures. The thing I find so frustrating is that there are many things that could be done to help but no one is doing them. People just throw their arms up in the air and say it is too complex and difficult to fix the problems. No it is not.
