Indeed, and also the duplication of administrative work, often sloppy irrational plan decisions, perverse incentives, price distortions, all the middlemen, etc.
One more Sinatra fact- his mother was a Democratic ward boss and political organizer in the Italian immigrant community called “Hatpin Dolly,” because she was a midwife but also did abortions for the women in the neighborhood, leading Francis to be banned from singing in the church.
I’m pretty clearly not talking about Medicaid eligible hourly workers, I’m talking about everyone above the upper income cutoff, but still, something like one in six workers would quit their jobs but stay there to retain healthcare benefits. I hardly think it’s good for hourly workers to depend on their employers for their health and life in addition to income. But it’s also bad for the economy and entrepreneurship, in addition to depressing wages:
You act like that’s a bad thing. Healthcare is the single biggest factor that prevents people from seeking better employment, choosing to live on one income instead of two, or starting businesses of their own. When employers can’t handcuff their workers with healthcare, wages are the primary tool they have to keep them, and if they choose not to pay market rate, they will suffer the consequences. Don’t confuse bondage with benefit.
That is a key feature, maybe THE key feature of any reform that seeks improvement to the private health insurance market, not a bug. All employees are ALREADY paying the full boat cost, they are just bartering some amount of their labor for it and giving their employer the entire tax break, in return for a suboptimal risk pool and no portability.