Tying your health insurance to your job seems really stupid?

[TopHatFox]

From experience, it's just a bad idea. Sure, you may be able to get the employer to pay part of it. But, if you leave that job, your health insurance becomes ridiculously expensive. It's also a confusing hassle to then replace the insurance while navigating unemployment.

I think it makes much more sense to simply pick out health insurance independent from your employer from the get go.

What say you?

[CS]

That's the point... it keeps you from leaving (bwahahahaha goes the evil employer.)

[suomalainen]

I don't understand. Are you making a policy argument or are you suggesting that folks in the US even have a choice? If the former, you need to flesh it out some more; as policy arguments go, that's non-existent. If the latter, it's largely an employer-based system. If you don't have an employer, and you can't pay for it yourself, you need to find an employer, so...it's a bad idea compared to what? Not having insurance?

[chicago81]

It's not the only stupid thing...

Having a "cost-sharing" structure (e.g. deductibles and oopmax) that have a one-year-clock that resets every year is insane. Encourages you to try to plan your medical care around the benefit-year instead of what is best for your health. It also encourages the "all-you-can-eat" mentality once you blow thorough your oopmax for a certain benefit year.

It's also stupid how byzantine the tax-deductiblity of health insurance and health care is determined. Pay for the plan for yourself? Not tax deductible. Paid through a group plan from an employer? Sure, the employer can deduct it, and the employee can deduct payroll premiums. What about tax deductiblity of your cost-sharing payments to health care providers? Sure, if you have a high deductible plan and an HSA... also sure if you have a non-HDHP but you happen to guess correctly about your medical needs and fund an FSA.... Otherwise, no. And you can do a limited purpose FSA on the HDHP plan anyway.. What a clusterfuck of bullshit.

[luxagraf]

I've never had a traditional employer, I've always worked contracts or in jobs that didn't have health care (kitchens mostly) so I have no experience with anything other than buying my own issurance and... it was always fine until the ACA came along.

I miss the high deductable plans that could be coupled with an HSA, since that's what I used up until the ACA and it was great (I wasn also single back then, which made it cheaper). In the beginning the ACA was pretty good for contract employees, I paid for my family me +4 for nearly the same price as just me. But as everyone else has discovered as well prices keep going up. This year I can't afford anything in the ACA realm* so I went with a healthsharing plan instead of insurance, so far I actually like it much better for most of reasons that chicago81 mentions.

* Not entirely true, I couldn't find anything that made any **economic sense** to me would be a better way to put it.

[James_0011]

Just dont get health insurance. Doctors aren't going to help you anyways.

[TopHatFox]

Just dont get health insurance. Doctors aren't going to help you anyways.

They are if you need a bone mended?

[Italiano]

To random of a statement. Depends on the employer and what type of insurance they provide.

[halfmoon]

It's also stupid how byzantine the tax-deductiblity of health insurance and health care is determined. Pay for the plan for yourself? Not tax deductible.

Just to clarify: if you're self-employed, your medical insurance premiums (and those of your spouse/dependents) are deductible in much the manner of an IRA. That is, they don't reduce your Schedule C income for calculation of the self-employment tax, but they do reduce your adjusted gross income. I know that's not your point; I just wanted to alert anyone who might be missing this deduction.

[James_0011]

Just dont get health insurance. Doctors aren't going to help you anyways.

They are if you need a bone mended?

The emergency room is the only thing thats legit in my opinion. But I still will probably go without health insurance once I'm ere - right now my employer pays for it, and I would like to retire in a foreign country where medical costs are cheaper anyways.

[classical_Liberal]

...

[sarahen]

The employer-based health insurance system is a consequence (probably unintended) of a tax break put into place in the mid 1900s. Hard to unwind when it's so integral to the system now.