Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Why should the availability of health insurance be determined by whether one is employed, or married to someone who is?
As for the market, employer-provided health care is, from what I understand, principally an historical accident resulting from certain tax advantages combined with low costs of providing such years ago. If it were inherently sensibile, why do most countries that provide health care provide it through the government rather than employers?
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Employer provided health care is a result of the labor unions and the labor movement in the US. The "tax advantage" is a deduction for premiums paid. That's the same "tax advantage" that a corporation gets for paying any other cost of doing business.
Most countries provide health care through government because their health care systems grew out of the growth of Socialism as a governmental form following the end of Monarchy or facism. Those same countries freely acknowledge their systems don't work aqs well as privately funded employer based heath care delivery systems.
