Employment-Based Health Care Is an Anchor around the Neck of the U.S. Working Class

[Omaha Steve]

For a generation, U.S. unions have traded wages and other benefits for ever-shrinking health care coverage from employers, or for the ever-increasing employer contributions required to maintain similarly shrinking benefits from union-sponsored health and welfare funds. Photo: National Nurses United

February 14, 2020 / Mark Dudzic

Last June at the House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Medicare for All, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas lamented, “That great health care plan that your union negotiated for you? It’s gone. Banned under Medicare for All.”

A right-wing congressman with a 7 percent lifetime voting score from the AFL-CIO crying crocodile tears for union health care plans can easily be dismissed as just another absurdity of America’s political dysfunction.

But when Sen. Joe “The Working Man’s Friend” Biden repeats the charge almost word for word, and when AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka insists—on Fox News, no less!—that “if there isn’t some way to have our plans integrated into the system, then we would not support [Medicare for All],” something is up.

Talking points, after all, don’t appear out of thin air. They’re carefully crafted and disseminated by lobbyists and publicists, often on behalf of corporate interests.

FULL story: https://labornotes.org/2020/02/viewpoint-employment-based-health-care-anchor-around-neck-us-working-class

[ck4829]

1. K&R

[greymattermom]

2. The counter argument

is that all the money saved on health care overhead could go into wage increases.

[brokephibroke]

3. It's also an anchor around the neck of employers

And no one ever mentions that.

[Ohiogal]

4. For the life of me

I don’t know why corporations keep wanting this huge burden of providing health insurance and all the paperwork and expense it entails. You’d think they would jump at the prospect of single payer.

[brush]

5. Exactly right. A few ears back it was estimated that US autos are $1500 more expensive...

Last edited Sat Feb 15, 2020, 12:30 PM - Edit history (1)

because of the chealthcare burden US companies have to bear. The same thing also exists in other industries.

Worldwide our goods would be much more competitive if we had single-payer that would free up corporations from such costs.

[CaptYossarian]

6. The GOP's false theory is that everyone loves their insurance company.

THEY might because "corporations are people", but most individuals with brains don't love paying higher premiums for less coverage each year.

One of the Democrats running for Sean Duffy's vacant seat in Congress is an insurance salesman who favors Medicare For All. That blows their argument right out of the water.

I've got a real problem with my vote in Tuesday's primary. The salesman and his challenger are in agreement on all the issues. The only difference is that the challenger is a Native American female, so I'm leaning toward her. We need more females and especially more persons of color in govt., so I'll most likely choose her.

[mountain grammy]

7. K&R times a million.