Medicare for all and company paid health care..

[safeinOhio]

Some are warning voters about giving up employer health care for Medicare. I've had the Cadillac of company health care for over 40 years and now have both.
Before I had Medicare, Blue Cross almost always denied me coverage for emergency room cost and claimed it was always non life threatening and I'd have to fight them and prove it was. Now with both that is never a problem. Medicare covers 80% and Blue Cross cover 10%. It is much better than just health coverage without Medicare.
Then there the advantage of the company not having to pay the $20K for full coverage. With a good union like the UAW those savings can be turned into wages.
Working in a Detroit Auto factory, we were always worried about our jobs moving to Canada where the company would save those cost.
Don't buy the argument that people will not like giving up company health care for Medicare for all.

[Sherman A1]

1. I can and could never understand why

employers such as GM, Ford, Boeing and alike were not out banging on the doors of Congress to move to Universal Coverage or at least a hybrid system. It would be such a huge cost savings for them even if most of that money translated into wages and pensions or 401s (you know that a percentage would go into the pockets of the executives).

[safeinOhio]

2. Medicare is and has been a hybrid system.

Medicare Supplement Insurance is a thing. You can have it with your private retirement or purchase it.

[csziggy]

23. True - and with Medicare for All, supplemental insurance will still be around

Companies could offer it as a benefit, or offer it as a group policy available to their employees.

My husband's employer offered plans never covered more than 80% of the cost of procedures - same as basic Medicare now covers. Now that he/we are on Medicare, we buy a supplemental plan that pays the other 20%, something that we could not do when he was working. 2012 when I had both knees replaced, I reached the $10,000 out of pocket limit for medical care - which is one reason I got both knees done the same year and why I went on to have carpal tunnel surgery the same year.

Think of how employers (or unions) could tout supplemental plans - it would be a big draw. AARP makes tons of money selling those kinds of plans to retirees now.

[Cosmocat]

3. Right?

All this bs about not impeding business, and they desperately cling to what is BY FAR the biggest weight on them, employer based healthcare.

The inconsistencies of the bs are endless.

[JustThinking...]

4. that's a good point,

There is obviously some profit reason why the major corporations aren't bribing, sorry, lobbying, to push for medicare for all.

They used to claim they were happy to provide coverage as an added incentive for folks to work for them (as if simply adding that money to paychecks was unthinkable).

Again, obviously they are reaping some bottomline benefit from the way things are, could be as simple as the insurance industry paying them off somehow, like when the oil industry pays off the automakers to keep building engines that get lower MPG than we know is possible or the electronics industry to make appliances that use unneccesary electricity (I don't need 5 digital clocks in my kitchen OR a red light telling me my tv is off).

[Farmer-Rick]

6. For a short while my wife worked for the Waltons as a cashier at Wal-Mart

She worked enough hours to be eligible for the health care the Waltons were offering. The Waltons then decided they wanted more money so they decided to get into the health care insurance business themselves. They got a cheapo health insurance company and made all the employees take their insurance. It was overpriced and had huge deductibles. My wife left soon after, so I don't know if they still do their own health insurance. Probably a lot of corporate health care is just another way of making more money.

I think a lot of corporations do this. I suspect, like going into banking, it is a thing big corporations use as another profit center...feeding off their employees.

[JustThinking...]

7. cross-profiteering

Like when the insurance companies hold a stake in the hospitals and vice-versa.

[Farmer-Rick]

12. Sounds like something a Pirate would do.

[Lonestarblue]

8. Businesses use healthcare to prevent employees from leaving.

If you no longer have to worry about preexisting conditions or whether you’ll have healthcare at all, you have much more flexibility in moving to a new job. Employers might have to pay people more and stop forcing them to work innumerable unpaid hours, as many do with employees classified as management who are expected to work 60-70 hours a week because they are “professionals.”

[shanti]

18. Bingo

Health coverage should never be tied to one's employment. They are totally separate entities, and I think it's a huge scam.

[JustThinking...]

20. yep, there's good reasons it's called wageslavery.

[Cosmocat]

25. That's a thought

The cost for insurance is so prohibitive, but I can see the appeal in this regard.

[MichMan]

11. Perhaps they are concerned that they would have to foot the bill ?

Not for just their employees, but for lots of others they don't employ?

[JustThinking...]

22. I've never heard anyone suggest corporations pay the entire cost of National healthcare before,

Make billioniare shareholders "foot the bill", It's an interesting idea.

But if you meant that they are trying to avoid paying their fair share of our costs of running a healthy Nation, I think you're right.

[MichMan]

27. Who said "pay the entire cost" ?

I didn't.

I would however like to know what is their fair share and who decides?

Even though I don't work for them, is Ford responsible for my health care just because I drive one of their older cars?

[JustThinking...]

30. my apologies...

I'm used to "footing the bill" to mean paying the bill. The whole bill. It's just what I thought that common phrase always meant.

Their fair share is commonly understood to mean their portion of the cost. The part that they would be responsible for when the total is fairly divided. If 10 people all agree to pay their fair share of a $100 group lottery ticket, they would each pay 10% or $10. It's a mix of the words "fair" and "share".

So if we decide as a group to allow ourselves to have access to medical care, we as a group would pay for it by individually paying our fair share into the total cost. And it would be we as a group who decides that and decides if any adjustments should be made to be sure it IS fair. For example, if ten people run up a $100 bar tap, is it fair for the non-drinking designated driver to pay his $10 share? That's for the group to decide as a group (preferably before the drinking begins).

Pretty simple stuff, really.

I don't understand your question about ford unless you're talking about making the corporations foot the bill again.

[Steelrolled]

33. It is a case of the "devil you know" vs the "devil you don't know"

No one doubts that employers would pay a good portion of the cost of single-payer health care - it is what is done in many other countries, and it makes sense since many employers are already doing it. They just assume it will cost them more today, so they favor the status quo.

[Boomer]

5. Employers want you tied to them

By offering good medical benefits, employees are less likely to leave. If your choice is to stay at a boring job, or a job with a dysfunctional boss, versus losing your healthcare, most people choose to stay.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Countries like Canada and Europe have a competitive advantage with Health Care for All. . . . nt

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Just imagine....

With Medicare for all and optional supplemental plans, corporations would actually have to attract new employees based on the place being a great company to work for, rather than the shiny objects they dangle to get people in the door.

KY...........

[Ohiogal]

13. Just imagine!

You wouldn't have to stay working at a place you hated just because you depend on the health insurance! What a concept!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

17. Or....

imagine perhaps not nearly all of both people in American couples not having to work, or in many case work two jobs, just so both (and any kids) can have health care.

We are dreamers!.....

It's becoming much clearer why insurance companies are fighting this tooth-and-nail. This would be a sea-change for that industry....and to the consumer's advantage.

We Americans are so darn good at doing things first, but not good at all at undoing things.

[shanti]

19. The Dem candidates

really should press this issue when discussing Medicare for All and like programs. They have to help people understand!

[Poiuyt]

31. I was just saying to my wife today that the proponents of single payer insurance have

not done a good job of educating the public (and the media pundits) about what it is and what the benefits are. A lot of people are afraid of losing their employer based private insurance. Well, if they understood that it would mean better insurance at a lower cost, I'd bet they'd change their tune.

[Mc Mike]

14. I'm in a construction labor union. Our contract requires a dollar/hr medical coverage deduct.

It's a 3 year contract, I've watched that cost climb from 6 to 11 dollars per hour, about double in 2 decades. Around 20 % of our total comp 'wages'.

I've been watching the 3 year contract for decades. What has really climbed is medical costs deduct. All future contract negotiated financial gains would go into wages, instead of hyper-inflated health care coverage costs.

And our medical coverage wage deduction dropped from 10 to 9 dollars, as Obamacare phased in. It's up to 11 now, due to attacks on the ACA.

I bet about a million American workers who are close to retirement, would retire if they knew they and their families could be covered medically, using the money they've already had deducted for health care coverage. Claw it back. Tell the private insureres 'you're kicking in for early retirees who you've been gouging while you 'covered' them'.

And all the active workers would be paid better.

[safeinOhio]

29. Same here.

30 years at Ford and retired at 52. When I got Medicare at 65 my Blue Cross was no longer my main health insurance and my coverage got way better. No more jumping thru hoops.

[GoCubsGo]

15. I have never worked anywhere where I didn't have to pay into the "company paid" health insurance.

We always had options, but we also had to pay for about a third of the premium. It was hundreds of dollars per month. Every year, the premiums would go up, right along with the deductibles. The whole "company health care" thing is a big, fucking joke.

[TryLogic]

16. I've had Medicare only for ten years. No supplement.

We pay (our copay) for medical services when we use them... if we use them. We don't pay anything toward insurance company profits, CEO salaries, pharmaceutical company advertising, etc., etc. Our annual deductible for 2019 was $185.

Disclaimer/warning: However, we seldom take any medication. Just supplements and health food.

[walkingman]

26. Be aware that if you get a serious illness like cancer that 20% will be huge. You never know

what's coming to get ya!! I speak from experience.

[Everyman Jackal]

24. I am against Medicare for all.

I am 100% service-connected disabled for something that had nothing to do with being in the army. If I had finished college as my mother wanted instead of enlisting I would be on SSI and Medicaid. I have totally free medical care. Everyone should have totally free medical care.

[Skittles]

32. yup

the way things are now, a lot of people pay too much for health insurance with huge deductibles and lots of co-pays, while also having to pay the taxes that foot the bill for those who get free medical care - it is a very crappy system indeed

[Progressive2020]

28. Business Support For Medicare For All

It seems to me that most businesses other than Big Pharma and the Private Insurance Industry should be in favor of Universal Government Health Care.

If I own a business that makes and sells widgets, I want to focus on making and selling widgets, not on getting (complicated and expensive) health care for my employees.

As an employer, I do not want to have to be an expert in heath insurance for my employees. Medicare For All solves this problem for me. It takes the burden off of me for having to provide private health insurance for my employees.

Another thing is that Medicare For All helps the Labor Market. If I am dependent on my job for Health Insurance, I can not easily change jobs or try to start a small business.

If we all had Government Health Insurance, it becomes easier to attract and hire new people to our company. Workers are freer to move between jobs with their Health Care guaranteed from the Government. Workers who do not depend on Employer based Heath Insurance would be freer to start a small business since their Health Insurance is portable.

Right now, if I am dependent on my job for my Health Insurance, it is harder for me to change jobs or start a business.

So there are a several reasons why Medicare For All is better for business and the economy.