‘It’s completely non-sustainable’

September 15, 2005

The good news is health care premiums only rose a little a lot, but less than in recent years. The bad news is the average cost for a family health insurance policy is nearly $11,000 — and, according to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, rising health care costs are pricing more consumers and employers out of coverage. (Thanks to Phil for the tip.)

This year, the average annual premium for family coverage hit $10,880, with employers paying an average of 74% of that cost and workers paying the rest. Workers this year paid on average $2,713 toward family coverage, or $1,094 more than they paid five years ago, the survey found. […]

Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, speaking at a health costs roundtable sponsored by cable channel CNBC, called on companies to offer health insurance, saying it’s a “moral obligation.”

Earlier, he told Washington state congressional representatives Starbucks will spend more on health insurance for employees this year than on coffee, according to the Associated Press. (emphasis added)

“It’s completely non-sustainable,” he said, even for companies such as his that “want to do the right thing.”

When the nation finally realizes its time to overhaul the healthcare system, don’t be surprised when Big Business takes a refreshingly progressive attitude. The status quo just costs too much, and there’s a cheaper, more efficient way.

Has anyone considered the possibility of making health insurance premiums tax-deductible??? Has any representative, congressman, or senator ever proposed such??? Seems simple enough. Not a solution to the healthcare dilemma in this country, but it would help ease the burden somewhat.

  • “The requested document will not be displayed.

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_06/006533.php

    Reason: DDR score = 263. This page will not be displayed because it contains prohibited words or it has exceeded its tolerance of questionable words.”

    I read TCR from work, obviously, but I’m really curious to know if anyone who isn’t behind a webfilter can explain to me why a page that is supposedly about health care was filtered. Thanks.

  • Tax-deductible premiums won’t help those most at risk: those whose incomes are so low that lowering their taxes is not significant. We really need to face the fact that national health insurance will be less expensive and more effective than what we have now. The general health statistics (infant mortality, life expectancy, etc.) for the US are not impressive compared to more enlightened nations.

  • “The good news is health care premiums only rose a little this year.”

    Er, 9.2% is “only rose a little?” Less than last year’s
    11.2%, and 2003’s 13.9%, but still astronomically
    high. And 73% since 2000.

    RIght, LeisureGuy – tax deductions have always been
    just one more gimmick to help the rich. Down in the
    low brackets they’re worth much less, and for the
    working poor, who pay no taxes, they’re worth
    zilch. Doesn’t matter whether you’re talking
    mortgage interest or health insurance costs.

    Ironically, it’s the corporations who might finally
    force the issue, because all the advanced
    countries have national health insurance, except
    us, of course. Worker based health insurance
    places American companies at a competitive
    disadvantage.

    It’s ironic. We pay far more per capita than the
    other advanced countries, the effectiveness of
    our coverage is near the bottom, and we leave
    out 45 million altogether, and another 50 million
    or more are always on the verge of losing their
    coverage, but we do nothing about it, and the
    people just don’t seem to care. They just love
    the Republican way. The ownership society.

  • hark, I’m with you. It boggles my mind that a simple comparison of the costs in our benighted system vs. the cost of health care per capita in ANY of the industrialized countries which offer universal coverage wouldn’t be enough on its face to convince anybody that we’ve got it all ass backwards. I don’t know about you, but even with a supposedly good health care plan (through my employer) I get hit for deductible amounts when any sort of even relatively major thing happens that just about puts me under, especially if I have to go “out of network.” The insurance companies wheedle and twist and do everything in their considerable power to avoid paying for coverage even when you have a “good” plan. And yet there are almost a hundred million of us either completely uninsured or on the brink.

    So is it time for a Dem presidential candidate to campaign on this as his (or her) signature issue? How hard would it be to lay out the numbers for even the stupidist voter to understand? And far from being “another costly handout,” it would be quite easy to argue convincingly that it’ll save the country fully half of what we’re spending now! Convert that into billions (whatever it comes to, I forget offhand) and describe what that money could be used for instead. Make it the heart of a money saving fiscally responsible vision of the future in which everyone could tell their insurance companies what they’ve wanted to tell them for years.

    Sure, I can see startled cries of “Socialism!! Socialism!!” issuing from the big mouths of every rightwing jerk from Limbaugh to [insert name here], but for Apollo’s sake how hard can it be to lay out the facts to counter the spin. The numbers don’t lie, and are so overwhelming. And as CB points out, big business (with the exception of the insurance companies) might very well get on board with this. Isn’t it past time?

  • Pointless correction:

    Tax deductions haven’t been a gimmick
    for the rich since the 1986 tax reform
    act, where they were phased out on the
    wealthy in return for drastic cuts in
    marginal rates. But it’s still true that
    tax deductibility of health insurance
    premiums wouldn’t be worth much
    in the 15% bracket, and worthless
    for those who pay no tax.

    Only solution is national health
    insurance. Conyers and Kucinich
    have had a bill languishing in Congress
    for years. I haven’t even examined
    it, knowing how hopeless the situation
    is.

    The American people have been
    thoroughly brainwashed by Reagan’s
    mantra that government isn’t the solution,
    it’s the problem. The truth is that we need
    an intelligent balance between the private
    and public sectors. But there’s no will
    to do this. No will to serve the people
    anymore, in either party. Just to serve
    the special interests.

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