Re:Employees Start to Feel the Squeeze of High-Deductible He...
by pnutjam on Friday May 03, 2019 @01:18PM
(#19820265)
That's not necessarily true, the discounts that insurance companies negotiate can be huge, but it's hard to include that since prices are so inflated to begin with.
Re:Employees Start to Feel the Squeeze of High-Deductible He...
by rayiner on Friday May 03, 2019 @03:26PM
(#19821456)
At least that premium is totally reasonable. In Germany, the health insurance tax is 15%, half paid by the employer and half by the employer (and it’s not progressive like the ACA subsidy). $4,500 per year is 7% of income, lower than what the employer-side tax alone would be in Germany.
Re:Employees Start to Feel the Squeeze of High-Deductible He...
by mikestew on Friday May 03, 2019 @03:54PM
(#19821688)
Now do the math when you include total out-of-pocket. My napkin says: "Considerably more than 15%". (Unless I misremember, and the 15% German tax doesn't cover the vast majority of cost.) Not to dismiss your point completely, but I could sell you insurance for $1/year, but your total out-of-pocket cost is going to be considerably more than $1.
Yes. The only word I disagree with in the headline is "start." The squeeze started years ago. One way to look at the problem is this way: http://seliger.com/2018/11/11/health-insurance-security-fqhc...:
In Northern Virginia, for example, the cheapest 2019 Obamacare individual market Silver plan for a family of four (mom and dad age-40) making a subsidy eligible $65,000 a year costs $4,514. That plan has a $6,500 deductible meaning the family would have to spend $11,014 on eligible health care costs before collecting other than nominal first dollar benefits.
I am not a fan of the word "unsustainable," but it seems to apply here.