Ezekiel Emanuel, an architect of the Affordable Care Act, has long predicted a similar shift.
He didn't just predict it. He planned it that way.
Why should your boss get to decide what options you have and negotiate the cost of them? Employers don’t get to select our auto insurance or mortgage company, so why should health insurance be any different?
Employer-based health insurance was a perk offered in lieu of raises during WWII, and had tax benefits for employers.
The beginning of employment based health insurance dates back to World War II. Back then it was thought unfair that so many soldiers risked their lives overseas for low government controlled wages, while those who stayed at home enjoyed high wages. Therefore those not fighting the war should also share the burden of war by having their wages controlled. In addition, shortages in labor due to increased wartime production and so many workers shipped to war, drove the cost of labor up, and wage controls were deemed necessary to keep production up. And therefore the U.S. government set wage limits in numerous private industries Consequently, to attract good workers, employers got around wage restrictions by offering various benefits, such as health insurance, pension plans, paid holidays, etc., that were not subject to the government mandated wage ceilings. And this is how the employment based health insurance we have today was born. U.S. tax laws then further skewed the market in favor of an employment based health insurance system by allowing employers to get tax deductions for the expense of paying for such a benefit, yet not taxing employees for receiving it, and not allowing taxpayers to deduct the cost of insurance if they get it on their own. This effectively means that health insurance obtained through employment is not taxed, while health insurance obtained independently is. socialismdoesntwork.com
Also, in case you didn't notice, it's the government deciding what options you have now. And you have practically NO choice - buy health insurance or pay a fine.
Generally speaking, the employer-based health care system worked OK when we had a lot more people working in big corporations - IBM, AT&T, General Motors, GE, etc - and when health care was not so expensive as it is now. It's obvious that Obamacare is meant to shift everyone to the exchanges sooner or later, to expand the pool of insured. |
