Rising Health Care Costs Killing Wages for Working Americans
| Mon Mar. 24, 2008 6:30 AM PDT
The Washington Post has been front-paging some great reporting recently on the economic trials of everyday Americans. Here's another example today, about the impact of rising health care costs:
Employees and employers are getting squeezed by the price of health care. The struggle to control health costs is viewed as crucial to improving wages and living standards for working Americans. Employers are paying more for health care and other benefits, leaving less money for pay increases. Benefits now devour 30.2 percent of employers' compensation costs, with the remaining money going to wages, the Labor Department reported this month. That is up from 27.4 percent in 2000.
"The way health-care costs have soared is unbelievable," said Katherine Taylor, a vice president for Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union. "There are people out here making decisions about whether to keep their lights on or buy a prescription."
Since 2001, premiums for family health coverage have increased 78 percent, according to a 2007 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Premiums averaged $12,106, of which workers paid $3,281, according to the report.
That massive jump in premiums is one reason why, according the Post, "inflation-adjusted median family income has dipped 2.6 percent -- or nearly $1,000 annually since 2000."
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Comments
I've been there myself, having to forgo seeing the doctor or filling a prescription because I couldn't afford it. I'm fortunate to have family that can help me out when I'm in need; thinking about those who don't and who must go without any health care is so saddening and so infuriating.
Medical care should not be something we have to hope to be able to attain one day when we can afford it. And yet there are still people who think the system we have in the US is just fine and doesn't need to change. Granted, maybe what they have in Canada or Europe isn't as storybook-perfect as we'd like to believe. Maybe Michael Moore did paint a skewed version of it (though I still think everyone ought to see Sicko, if they can put aside personal feelings) but what we have here obviously is not working. When children get sick and can't see a doctor, when chronically ill people can't get their medication, when people file bankruptcy because they can't pay the hospital bills after an accident...something is rotten in the States. Health care being a for-profit industry is wrong, pure and simple.
I live in France and benefit from their health system. A French friend of mine spent a year in NYC and contracted tuberculosis. That would never have happened to him in France because everyone can access health care. And I think that this issue is an important one for Americans. It's not just a matter of getting care when you need it but also living in a society which is healthy as a whole so that you're not being exposed to diseases which are proliferating in a population which doesn't readily access adequate health care.
Prices are high because the consumer is no longer in control. When government starts stealing other people's money to pay for other people's health care, then prices are going to soar into the stratosphere.
Note: The fact that you exist and breathe does not entitle you to health care. You have to work for it!!!
Also, if the companies could pay us that 30% in cash, we could invest it or save it in a health care savings account. This would let us have charge of our own money. Yes, some people would waste it on beer and food, but it's their money. And if they get sick and have no money, then it's THEIR PROBLEM!!
Unfortunately, we no longer have the freedom to have control over our own money and/or property. America is slowly becoming a socialist country. After all, can't let us simple folk have control of our own money.
No, no. Bad peasant! Bad peasant! You don't know what's best for you. We do! We'll take care of you. Just give us your money.
Listen, I'm a small business owner who has choosen to NOT have health insurance. I keep my money. I have Health Savings Account, and it works. People need to be responsible for themselves and stop whinning. Life is not that bad! Save your money for that rainy day!
And if you can't afford health care for your kid -- don't have any. Now there's a thought. But stop asking other people to pay your way through life!
I know that Alisa won't see this almost 4 months after she made her comments about health care, but someone ought to preserve this as a "perfect" conservative response. Indisputably reveals that she has been listening to AM radio and has got all the answers down pat. If she gets sick and needs help I sure hope her "suck on this"attitude is going to bite her in the behind. Oops, now I am as mean and cruel as she is. Oh, well.
Do you really care?
Submitted by Alisa Lea Gossage (not verified) on Mon Mar. 16, 2009 3:39 AM PDT.
If I do get sick, would you be kind enough to pay my bills? After all, you are such a kind, giving person . . . .
Of course, the answer is a resounding NO! You would steal from others to pay for someone else's health care, and then you would take credit for being a nice person. But you don't care enough to use your OWN MONEY.
If you really cared about others' health care problems, that's what you would do. Or you would start a charity to help the sick. After all, what you spend your money and time on is what you truly care about.
Submitted by Lily (not verified) on Tue Jul. 29, 2008 8:45 AM PDT.
I found a great prescription discount card at www.rxdrugcard.com. Let me give you an example of the savings. I've seen ads on TV for Caduet. It has two ingredients. One is Amlodipine and the other is Atorvastatin. With my RxDrugCard I can get 30 tablets of Amlodipine for $9 and 30 tablets of Simvastatin for $9. I'll bet they are charging more than $18 for this new drug! I think that RxDrugCard.com is the best drug card available for prescription discounts. The monthly family membership fee is only $4.95! You can't beat that!
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