Say goodbye to employer-provided health insurance

Market Watch ^ | March 17, 2015 | By Richard Eisenberg

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Could employer-provided health insurance be going the way of employer-sponsored pension plans?

Rick Lindquist, president of Zane Benefits, which specializes in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses, says: Not only could it happen; it’s happening already.

Lindquist and Paul Zane Pilzer (who founded Zane Benefits), argue that case in their new book, “The End of Employer-Provided Health Insurance.” As surprising as you may find the title, get a load of its subtitle: “Why It’s Good for You, Your Family and Your Company.”

Lindquist and Pilzer’s company stands to profit if employers shift from traditional health insurance and toward their defined-contribution reimbursement system. In that model, employees are given a flat amount of cash from their employers — say $500 a month — told to buy a health-care plan with it and that their firms will cover their medical costs.

[nascarnation]

Now there’s really no need for Unions

In that case, the Democrat party is gonna need to find a new source of campaign dough. Bake sales?

[cuban leaf]

The price for health care without health insurance is plummeting. This is partly due to the fact that the high deductibles are keeping people away from the doctor unless they really, really need to go. So if you are paying by cash or credit card, you can end up paying a quarter or less than the same visit used to cost if you used insurance.

[kvanbrunt2]

its a lie

[DoodleDawg]

When you need to change the oil, or get new wiper blades, do you turn that claim into your auto insurance carrier. Nope. That's a silly economic model. You go find someplace that will do the job cheaply and efficiently because you are spending your money on a routine service.

My oil change costs $30. My physical would probably cost over $500. That's why I have insurance.

It's just as silly with health care. Do it yourself; diet and exercise. Live healthy and take care of yourself. Don't overeat, smoke and drink excessively, and be lazy.

And that protects you from diseases how?

[henkster]

You don't get it.

Car insurance is for car wrecks. Health insurance is for diseases. You don't like paying $500 for a physical? Find a guy who will do it for $400. With everything going through insurance, there is no incentive to run the business of health care like a competitive business. Only that way will a physical cost less.

Oh, and by the way, tell me how your "insurance" is paying $500 for your physical, but YOU are not.

[Paladin2]

Well, bye......

[Paladin2]

What? You expect American peeps to be responsible for themselves?

[donna]

...employer-sponsored health insurance truly began during World War II. During the war, wages were capped by the federal government, so employers needed another means to entice and keep employees.

The incentive they decided on were benefits like health insurance. These health benefits packages were not considered a part of employees’ wages and the employers could deduct what they spent on these benefits packages from their corporate taxes.

http://www.sharecare.com/health/health-insurance/employer-sponsored-health-insurance

[Fledermaus]

The entire reason for Ocare - destroy employer provided health INSURANCE (not care - grow up writers).

[Fledermaus]

Dang, my dementia kicked in...they did say insurance. My bad.

[Cyman]

I provided my medical staff with health insurance, a 401K matching, a week of paid sick per year, uniforms, 2-4 weeks of paid vacation per year and year end bonus.

All that is left is uniforms, vacation with a maximum 2 weeks and a bonus that is 25% of what it was 5 years ago.

And the new staff will eventually think of this fondly as “what it used to be like in the good ole days”

[DoodleDawg]

Oh, and by the way, tell me how your "insurance" is paying $500 for your physical, but YOU are not.

Well they're not paying $500, they negotiate a price a lot less than I can get. And by paying for my maintenance, as you put it, then they save money in the long run by avoiding more serious, more expensive procedures.

[henkster]

I know. Silly me...

[Sooth2222]

I've seen this article before -- and not today, in spite of today's date line. I remember, because I've been puzzled by exactly what the statement, "In that model, employees are given a flat amount of cash from their employers — say $500 a month — told to buy a health-care plan with it and that their firms will cover their medical costs" is supposed to mean.

In any case, I doubt it. If an employer wants to hire or retain employees with certain sets of skills, he will have to provide them with whatever salary and benefits it takes to attract them. I worked for a European company in New York and the health benefits were very plush. (Although I was an officer.) They were stingy about other stuff, but not health benefits.

Private health insurance is still to be found in the UK and Germany, so I don't think Obamacare will make it extinct in the US.

If you are working for a company that might think that this is good advice -- you have my sympathies.

[henkster]

You save the money in the long run by changing the oil in your car...I mean, taking care of yourself.

[dragnet2]

Lots of businesses were more than eager to offload their employee health insurance costs onto the government.

Why not, they're the same corrupt SOB's who hire illegals by the millions for a bit more profit.

Profits regardless of consequences.

[Myrddin]

I asked my gastroenterology clinic about cash vs insurance. They are more than eager to cut me a better cash deal. My deductibles are so high and I go so rarely for any reason that cash make sense. I was paying $492 every two weeks to cover my wife and myself. My hours got cut to 12 hours per week. The premiums were going to $642 every two weeks. Crap. My take home without insurance was $1,000 every two weeks at 12 hours per week. I dropped the coverage. My wife's employer offered better coverage and no premium. Cool.

[Alberta's Child]

Here's the comparison I like to make. You have a car, you probably have car insurance. When you need to change the oil, or get new wiper blades, do you turn that claim into your auto insurance carrier. Nope. That's a silly economic model. You go find someplace that will do the job cheaply and efficiently because you are spending your money on a routine service.

I've heard that argument a lot, but there's an important difference between the "regular maintenance" vs. "routine health care" models. A more accurate comparison of the two would be a hypothetical case where your auto insurance company also covered your car's powertrain warranty. Not only would your auto insurance company cover your oil changes in that case ... They'd make it mandatory for you to have your oil changed regularly -- and at a service station approved by the insurance company.

[The Antiyuppie]

“The goverment has to lock down malpractice scams and abuses to really get a handle on skyrocketing costs.”

...never mind the medicare fraud. They even advertize on Fox (in plain sight) in order to snare the Depends crowd. I saw a Medicare official on this subject state on television that they “move to fast” for them to stop. Riiiiight...

Of the innumerable outrageous government lies of the last several years, possibly the worst has been that there has been little medical inflation compared to previous (=Bush) years. My wife’s simple, generic, ingredients made-in-55-gallon drum prescription tripled in the last 90 days. Or course, the cheap prescriptions subsidize the expensive ones that no one can afford. See? Obamacare works!

On a dollar-for-dollar outcome basis, our medical system is among the worst in spite of having the best medical educational system, doctors and technology - a truly amazing achievement. And Obamacare actually managed to make it worse!