Crafty accounting and good ole boy follow the $$$ between legislators/lawyers policies are a big problem IMO... My wife's employer, [state] claims to pay $460/month for her single 'basic' health policy. In a group pool that I would estimate in the 10s of thousands of employees, how is it that we could by the same coverage independently through Humana for half to a third of the cost, unless theres some real theft/corruption ???
Mind you, she isnt allowed to take the dollars and shop for herself,only accept their group policy or forfeit the 'income'. Competition could do wonders...
(1) Your wife is in extraordinary good health. Her individual policy does not have to build in coverage for hundreds of other group members with costly maintenance-intensive diseases.
(2) Her individual policy does not cover all the hundreds of ancillary therapies and treatments that the group policy has to cover, as a result of political pressures from all the acupuncturists, aromatherapists, Wiccan herb healers, etc.
I'd think that (1) is a possibililty and (2) almost a sure bet.