I don't understand the "I like my private insurance" meme.

[dawg day]

8. And it puts US employers at a disadvantage to those in countries with national health

My employer pays (I think) about $750 a month for my family's insurance-- I pay $200. There are more than 10K employees at this organization, and most are getting that same huge subsidy. I'm seeing a real disincentive here to hire-- now instead of hiring full-time permanent workers, they bring on part-time people, keeping them under 20 hours a week, so they don't have to provide the insurance.

In the UK and Canada, employers don't have to pay that direct subsidy. Presumably taxes are higher to pay for national health, but there isn't this huge cost just for this one "benefit", and so companies might have a real competitive advantage over US companies.

And of course, while many employed and insured workers don't quite realize this-- if they quit or are laid off or the company folds... they lose their insurance. It's amazing to me how some of my co-workers don't get that. One coworker was talking about quitting because he wanted to move to another state, and I knew his wife was under treatment for a serious condition. "You have to think about your insurance!" I reminded him, and he didn't know what I meant.

He thought he could take the insurance with him. Yes, there's COBRA, but you have to carry the entire cost then ($1000 a month or so), and it doesn't last forever. He thought that was going to still be $200 a month and forever.