How did it ever become expected of employers to provide their workers insurance of any kind? It doesnt really benefit the business, it is just an expense. I think companies should stop subsidizing their workers health insurance premiums.

Maybe if people had to pay for their own insurance the cost would go down because they might take more time to find a cheaper alternative to solve whatever health problem they might have.

This could be the solution that will really lower health care costs, as opposed to Nationalized Healthcare.

People really need to stop looking to everyone else to take care of them and become more self-reliant.

I didn't think companies had to pay health insurance for anybody. I have had many jobs and they didn't have health insurance and the last job I had stopped paying for it just before they hired me...



PEACE!!!

You can bet it wasn't the milk of human kindness that motivated most corporations to offer health insurance. It was, for most companies, a way of making their jobs more attractive to potential employees.

During this time of high unemployment, the notion of employers being anxious to find workers may sound strange, but often there is more demand for workers than there are workers. So, companies have to compete during such times. One benefit is to offer health insurance. One advantage of health insurance is the employers get a tax break. In the olden days (not all that long ago), healthcare wasn't the hot steaming mess it is now. Expenses weren't completely out of control with profiteering pharma. Companies could actually *afford* to pay the insurance rates.

Things have changed now. Jobs are scarce; insurance is astronomical. But it wasn't always like this.

well geee...wow. it was intended as a benefit to get employees to want to work for you. and there were mutual benefits to be had from this....group rate discounts, happy employees, and the like. unfortunately, our entire system kind of developed around this and there really aren't many if any ways around this. the vast majority of insured people in this country get that insurance either from their employer or the horrible socialist programs known as medicare and medicaid.

the elimination of this benefit or parts thereof by most employers when the costs started spinning out of control (about the time illegal immigration started jacking those costs up by my best estimate, compounded by the ridiculous rates the insurance companies started charging self-insurers and those with smaller businesses ) is what has compounded if not outright caused a great part of the horrific situation we're in today. again, there is simply no alternative for many people today that is not cost prohibitive.

another thing that hurt the employee is that no one like a union was really around anymore to go to bat for them. decisions to eliminate or reduce the benefit were made by bean counters with absolutely no regard for humans and no care for the intangible ramifications.

to the op, i ask, what do you see or propose as a way around this? what happens when the benefit is completely eliminated? you don't really state any sort of real world solution proposal here.

[edit on 31-7-2009 by ~Lucidity]

[edit on 31-7-2009 by ~Lucidity]

YOU NEED to read up on the history of the labour movement.

If you are going to sacrifice a third of your life on this planet to make some corporate schmucks rich you better damn well fight for every perk and privilege you can squeeze out of them before they squeeze the life out of you.

Or can your labour be had that cheap?