RE: the future of health insurance, Booz&Co calls forecasts of the demise of employer-sponsored coverage "greatly exaggerated."
I hope they're right; I fear they're not. Believing that large employers will continue offering coverage - at increasingly ruinous rates - out of a "sense of moral responsibility" is pure fantasy. They saw no moral obligation when the issue was off-shoring jobs and they won't in this case either. Nor, with slow-growth economic conditions projected to last as far as the gimlet eye can see, do they believe themselves in much of a battle to "attract and retain talent."
Worse, they're herd-followers. The more organizations dumping health insurance, the more we'll see jumping on the "we're doing it to stay competitive" bandwagon. And so much for that.
Small employers probably do have a larger sense of obligation, God bless 'em. Their issue is health coverage's sheer unaffordability. They'd like to but they can't - unless health care's cost trajectory is somehow tamed. Anyone want to take that bet?
Here's the opposite viewpoint from Kaiser Health News, featured in a post of mine from back in November, 2010 titled "What Would Happen If Employers Walked Away From Health Coverage?"
It ain't pretty.
I hope they're right; I fear they're not. Believing that large employers will continue offering coverage - at increasingly ruinous rates - out of a "sense of moral responsibility" is pure fantasy. They saw no moral obligation when the issue was off-shoring jobs and they won't in this case either. Nor, with slow-growth economic conditions projected to last as far as the gimlet eye can see, do they believe themselves in much of a battle to "attract and retain talent."
Worse, they're herd-followers. The more organizations dumping health insurance, the more we'll see jumping on the "we're doing it to stay competitive" bandwagon. And so much for that.
Small employers probably do have a larger sense of obligation, God bless 'em. Their issue is health coverage's sheer unaffordability. They'd like to but they can't - unless health care's cost trajectory is somehow tamed. Anyone want to take that bet?
Here's the opposite viewpoint from Kaiser Health News, featured in a post of mine from back in November, 2010 titled "What Would Happen If Employers Walked Away From Health Coverage?"
It ain't pretty.
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