Bondsman:

doodahman:

Stop being such a dumbass, please. The insurance is exactly supposed to be a payout to me-- a portion of the compensation I earn with my labor in the form of a benefit. Only it gets negotiated between the insurers and the HR department, and the bottom line gets taken out of what would ordinarily have been paid to me in wages.

I'm sorry, you're just wrong. The idea behind insurance is that everyone pays in a little bit, so there's a big pile of money for the few people that have major expenses. Healthy people aren't supposed to get a "return" on their health insurance.

Maybe you're trying to say that the benefit itself is a "payout", which is true, but it's hardly what most people consider a payout.

When unions negotiate for medical benefits IN LIEU OF wage increases, that makes that benefit part of the employees' earned compensation. We all have gotten health insurance from our employers IN LIEU OF wage increases. It made sense only because originally, the company due to group rates, could get better coverage for the dollar than we could individually. That hasn't been the case now for a long time, or to the extent that it is, it's only because the private insurance rates are artificially inflated due to the way the system is set up-- they have a captive market, control the alternatives, and people can't go without insurance (maybe for themselves, but they've got kids and loved ones to consider).

So, when the burden goes from the company to the feds, whatever isn't going to the feds to cover the new public insurance ought to be given back to the employee as a wage increase. I don't understand what it is that you're saying that makes me wrong.

But, at least you were nice about it.