Civility and Cooperation

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by Dan40

A reasoned, logical, measured approach.
A bipartisan agreement on what are the top 5 problems. What are the top 10?

Even if only the top 2 problems could be agreed, fix them. PASS THAT, then move on to the next. Its a hundred year old problem. It is never going to be fixed in one fell swoop by either party. Step by step, an agreement or a compromise PASSED. Then on to the next. Everybody gets credit, everybody gets the benefits.

Any other approach by any party in power will end up the way we are today.

I agree with your sentiment. But according to a documentary I heard, the problem basically goes back to WW II. America is the only major country where health care is largely provided by employers. That became popular during WW II when wage controls forced employers to use lucrative fringe benefits to compete for workers. A short while later, the IRS institutionalized the situation by ruling that health insurance benefits are not taxable as income. Those two semi-random acts put in motion the current system. Since then, employees have sought out tax free health care benefits as preferable to taxed income. If that one thing were changed, every worker would see insurance premiums as something bought with his own money rather than the employer's money. That would change a lot about how people view and use health insurance.

[Dan40]

Originally Posted by Tommy

I agree with your sentiment. But according to a documentary I heard, the problem basically goes back to WW II. America is the only major country where health care is largely provided by employers. That became popular during WW II when wage controls forced employers to use lucrative fringe benefits to compete for workers. A short while later, the IRS institutionalized the situation by ruling that health insurance benefits are not taxable as income. Those two semi-random acts put in motion the current system. Since then, employees have sought out tax free health care benefits as preferable to taxed income. If that one thing were changed, every worker would see insurance premiums as something bought with his own money rather than the employer's money. That would change a lot about how people view and use health insurance.

Insurance is deeply involved with the problem, but is not "THE" problem. One among many!

Remember insurance companies are and for all of our lifetimes, have been ABSOLUTELY regulated by both federal and state governments. One can argue all one wishes about lobbyists from insurance companies and campaign contributions and even outright bribes. But it is still the politicians that PERMIT insurance companies to do what they do.
And now those same politicians, partisan or bipartisan, are going to fix the problem they were deeply involved in creating??? NOT EASY!!

Remember too, insurance companies MUST make profits, like any company must, and they ARE OWNED BY US. Stockholders. Crash the insurance companies and you crash everyday people's nest eggs, college funds, retirement programs.
As I said in the previous post. It is a problem 100 years in the making. It cannot be remedied with a fearsome stroke of a katana. It will have to be fixed with hundreds or thousands of pinpricks. Or it will continue on.