I’m still thinking about the uninsured woman with cancer who wrote to me and asked for advice. I’m wondering
- When you look for a job, what’s more important: the salary or the health care benefits?
Would you accept a great job with a salary & crappy benefits, or would you take a mediocre job simply for the health care benefits and health insurance?
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
I think it is the total rewards in the geographic area I am looking for the job. its not just salary, its not just health care, its also the retirement plan, and the other discretionary benefits. For example, my fine college matches my 5% in my 403(b) with a 9% contribution. Further, they offer four years of tuition to any immediate member of a full-time employee. That alone might be a very worthy trade-off for a lower salary if I have multiple children.
I’d take the great job with the crappy benefits because I think the mediocre job would give me health issues! Sick time seems to be burned up by the least happy people (when they don’t already have significant health issues). That said, I’m a healthy 40 year-old who only goes to the doctor once a year. (And since I am 40, I’m in complete denial that I’m heading toward middle age when I likely could have health problems and, ergo, would need great health insurance. La la la la laaaa!)
Totally about the benefits for anyone with a chronic healthcare condition. Until our government can provide basic affordable healthcare to everyone, we are going to be driven by necessity.
Laurie,
Based on my experience as a recruiter and negotiating salary, etc., for candidates is that most people put the majority of their emphasis on salary and very little on healthcare (and retirement) benefits.
I have yet to have a single candidate ask specific questions about healthcare benefits – and have had many who were far more concerned about what their title would be or whether they’d work in a cube or an office.
The question you were asked from the uninsured woman with cancer makes me think that this is a mistake.
Stephanie
My first instinct is to say SALARY is more important because I never go to the doctor, I’m a healthy 20-something, I always look at the salary above all in my job searching and back when I was recruiting and telling candidates about an open req! But I digress… just heard about my friend who is also 20 something (actually 2 years younger) and she now has a stage 4 brain tumor out of nowhere! WTF?! Going to a fundraiser for her tomorrow… you just never know whats around the corner.
Conclusion: I think you have to weigh them evenly, as hard as it is (unless you can see the future!).
With the situation now, single mom with 2 kids, I’d take the crappy job with health benefits. I’m doing some writing gigs on the side so I guess the crappy is job is okay.
I never stop looking for better opportunities though.
Laurie, As you probably know each person will need something different. A young single person in great health may very well have an interest in more salary. A person who is married, has 3 or 4 children will probably give bigger consideration to health care benefits. And, as Aria pointed out, how crappy is the crappy job? Will you wake up dreading going to work or simply doesn’t get you really excited each day?
I’d like to piggypack on the point Scott made…how crappy is the crappy job? If it is the “dreading waking up” bad than you cant take that job. It will blow up in your face in one way or another.. My advice: good old fashion pro & con lists…I’m really not a visual person by nature but going through the excersize and seeing it on paper always makes the decision for itself! I have learned through these lists that I am not willing to commute further for more money (I know it sounds silly but the list doesn’t lie!) All though I’d like to point out…if you take the higher paying job with crappy benefits you can afford supplemental health care!
I have a friend who worked mainly for the benefits because her husband was self employed. Her job kept him, her and their three kids in health insurance.
You know, I was thinking about this last week. I am a stay-at-home mom, so our salary and benefits come from my husband. If he died tomorrow, I’d have enough life insurance to pay the bills for a very long time…but I’d STILL have to go get a job, for the health insurance. Our COBRA payments from his last job were more than our mortgage payments.
The health care situation is just out of control. We HAVE to fix it. We HAVE to.
I left a crappy job with excellent – some might say exceptional benefits for a good job with polar opposite benefits. I took the job for the experience it would give me, in addition to the small increase in pay.
The crappy benefits here has lost us some good employees and kept good candidates from coming on board.
Like many of the commenter’s said, I think it depends on where you are in your life and your personal/family needs.
I’ve always been about the big picture, adding up salary, benefits, location, corporate culture, and perks. With salary getting primary consideration.
I think that has changed recently. Before, when I was earning six figures, it didn’t matter if my employer’s health benefits sucked or were too expensive. I could just buy an individual policy. Now that I’ve been turned down for two individual policies–because of allergies, fibromyalgia, and the fact that I USED to smoke–a strong benefits package would weigh much more heavily into any decision.
I hope by the end of 2009 this discussion will be moot, because of true health care reform.
I never cared about benefits, except to make sure they were at least offered. These days, if you can’t get medical ins. from your employer, you are screwed, no two ways about it.
My current premium for my wife and I on the “Aetna Value Select HMO” is $230 bi-weekly. I am lucky that I am able to put my son on Healthy Families, California’s version of SCHIP, for $17/mo. If I had to enroll him in my employer’s plan, it would probably drown me. Here’s hoping the Governator doesn’t ax Healthy Families.
I work for a small company, and I think, but don’t know for sure, that one of the employees is battling cancer. So that’s a double-whammy on premiums, small co.+cancer treatment. Although I am happy we can cover him.
I have a hyper-conservative, Rush Limbaugh-listening friend who is on my case all the time about “gov’mint control” of this and that. Health care reform is simple:
1. We believe all should be covered. Thus, all should pay. Thus, an individual mandate.
2. We believe insurance companies should be forced to put taking care of their insured above the taking of profit. Thus, a public plan that will force the ins. cos. to serve the public at competitive rates.
3. We believe people should be able to keep their current ins. if they like, that a public plan should not dry up business for ins. cos., and that employers shouldn’t shuffle off their responsibility on government. Thus, an employer mandate.
Now they want a trigger option for the public plan, so that there will be no public plan unless ins. cos. aren’t competitive.
Problems:
1. Ins. cos. will do everything in their power to APPEAR competitive
2. Ins. cos. will do everything in their power to REDEFINE what competitive means
3. It buys the ins. cos. enough time to wait for a conservative congress/administration that will never “pull” the trigger
Democrats need to understand that if they don’t pass a workable system now, it will become an albatross that the GOP will bash them with later.
I’d work for a smaller company for a better salary with less than optimal benefits if I really liked the job. I feel the huge companies that provide a myriad of discounted benefits usually suck to work for. At this point in my life/career, I’m just dying for a job I can be passionate about rather than one where my foot is always out the door. If they pay me enough to cover my expenses to the point where I’m not concerned about my finances then I can dedicate myself better to the job!
@akaBruno I’m with you on the total rewards package. Let’s not limit ourselves to just health benefits — except those are always the most pressing benefits, aren’t they?
@H Aria One of my readers said that 50% of all men face cancer at some time in their lives. I think about that — what if my otherwise healthy husband or healthy brothers get sick? You never know.
@Landinn That’s exactly the point. Thank you. Why should we have to make this stupid choice?
@Stephanie I know that I always ask questions about the health care plan, and when I recruited, I always gave candidates a “cheat sheet” on the health plan. Advised them to call the carriers for more information. It’s a part of the total rewards package and sometimes the value is greater than your salary — especially when a catastrophic illness is at hand!
@KFP I’m with you. I’ve been to those fundraisers. You can’t possibly raise enough money, sometimes.
@Mari Never stop!! That’s so right!! Hang in there.
@Scott I don’t know anyone who hasn’t dreaded a job — even the best job. There are just some days/weeks/months that are better than others. I don’t mind ‘dreading’ my job because the reward for my dread = my paycheck & benefits.
@Meagan You & Scott make a lot of sense, but I’m very pragmatic about work. I would shovel shit in a garbage pit for $250K/year. I would do it for $175K/year. I would NOT do it for $100K/year. I know my limits.
@Class I know people like that, too. I have family members who work solely for the benefits. Ugh.
@Kerry We’re in similar situations. Amen. Where the hell is my public option?
@adowling Oh I hate it — I really want to see health care removed from the employment equation. It makes no sense and we lose smart, innovative people.
@Elise I’m dreading the day I need to search for private insurance. I’m a woman who uses her benefits. That’s what they are for, right? Nope. I’m prepared to be denied.
@David T. You need a blog just dedicated to this subject. You know the ins/outs and you could debate it with your right-wing friends. Also, I’m 100% with you.
@JRMoreau I dunno if big companies with good insurance plans SUCK. Please stop dying for a job you can be passionate about. It doesn’t exist unless you make it.
Right now, I’d take the higher salary, but then again I am in a position where I can do so (young, in good health, no children, etc). I agree that it’s not a choice people should have to make.
@Tim You deserve more money and health insurance.
The staff in my office makes their opinion known when anyone from the corporate office comes down. The price and general crappitude (yes I made it up) of our benefits is the very first thing out of their mouths. It would be one thing if they had a salary to balance the benefits but price of our benefits is in no way factored into 90% of our offers. The remaining 10% are the ones that negotiated a higher salary after seeing the benefits package.
Damn, either one sounds really good to me these days.. signed, the self employeed-start up- entrepreneur
@Adowling I love crappitude. I’m going to use it frequently.
@Amanda I know, I know. I keep hoping Ken can hang on to his corporate job for the next 20 years — or until we find a way to get our hands on some socialized medicine.
I’ve been on both sides of this recently…worked for a small family owned company for a lesser wage but they totally paid the cost of all their managers health insurance premiums – yep, free health insurance and it was a Kaiser plan with good coverage but no other benefits (vision, life ins, etc). Of course, they recently sold out to a bigger company…no more free medical coverage but now I’ve got a 401K, disability ins, life ins, etc. Of course, I’m paying for all this coverage but at least I’ve got the choices to make now. Good or bad?… I haven’t decided yet.
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve almost always had SOME health coverage. But having “insurance” is f***ing useless when the ins company decides that the condition at hand is not covered for whatever reason. Last year my company paid roughly $10K for me to be covered, I paid $6K in non-covered services, deductables, etc, the ins company paid a grand total of $298, according to my statments. I’d forgo this pseudo-coverage in favor of higher salary in a heartbeat.
I think it is the overall package that you need to weigh.
For me, I think I would take a crappy job, for exceptional Health benefits. I have Lupus, a chronic autoimune illness. There is no cure. I am fortunate to be on my husbands exceptional Health plan. I am hopeful I will land that “wonderful Job” soon with a balance of Great job/Great insurance. Sadly the reality is, the two usually never are one of the same. That is a rarity in this world we are all working in today.
If the job is challenging, and the commute is small then offer me a fair salary, a good health plan, and 4 weeks paid vacation and I’m yours.
If the job sucks, and the commute is long, then you’d better pony up the dough too.
@Laurie – I was the reader to mentioned that 1/2 of men and 1/3 of women will develop cancer at some point in their lives. If you Google American Cancer Society statistics, you will get a .ppt that gives all of the info from their most recent fatality study, etc. What is more dire is that the graphic trend shows the increase in cancer starting in the 50s/60s. My guess is due to pollution, eating out of plastics & packaging and a host of other environment issues based in our “have it now – have it cheap” society. That’s a whole other can of worms, but still…
In regards to this question, I mentioned in the post re: woman with cancer that my husband and I purchased a separate cancer policy partly because of the statistic and partly because my company is self insured and re-structuring (a.k.a. reducing) the medical benefits every year. We went from a no-deductible plan (love that with two small children) to a HDHP with and HSA. I can say that we have lucked out this year with only a couple of colds and visits to the chiropractor, but nothing serious and we are still coming out ahead on costs. But I do think twice – nay, thrice (yes, thrice) – before heading to the GP.
I do weigh benefits heavily, along with other issues: work-life balance is huge, feeling challenged, but not overwhelmed in the job, the commute, etc.
@adowling – crappitude. Love it. And I’m gonna use it, too.
For me it’s quite simple.
As long as the crappy job pays me enough to get the bills paid and offers health coverage that is the one I’m going to take.
It’s not the decision I would like to make but one that I am forced into. As someone diagnosed with colon cancer at 27 (5 years cancer free this year), individual coverage isn’t really an option for me, nor is coverage that doesn’t really cover anything. For me to take a job with no or subpar coverage I would have to be paid a significantly amount more, probably more than an employer who scrimps on coverage is willing to pay, to be able to able to afford the medical expenses (higher premiums, uncovered procedures) I would incur.
Although I am cancer free now, it takes a lot to insure that I’m staying that way. I need regular doctors visits, colonoscopies, blood work, X-rays and cat scans to check my body over to make sure that whatever caused me to uncharacteristically develop colon cancer in my early twenties (I know I said 27 before but my doctors believe that I was undiagnosed for several years including some time when I uninsured because I thought I was young, healthy and didn’t really need insurance) doesn’t reappear again. These doctors visits, tests, and procedures cost thousands of dollars; without them it is likely that cancer will reappear eventualy somewhere in my body.
I wholeheartedly agree that we need to change the healthcare system in this country. I honestly believe in a single payer system, but if that is a little too socialist for some people, we at the very least need a public plan to compete with the major insurers, a mandate that everyone is required to have healthcare, and a new focus on wellness not just treatment which will drive costs down in the long run for everyone. These three factors at the least would begin moving this country in the right direction.
Oh and I always ask about health benefits when I am discussing compensation.
I’ll get off the soapbox now.
I think a fair question to ask is how much is a reasonable amount for people to pay themselves for their medical care. We buy our own houses, our own cars, our own food. How much of our own medical care should we buy? I don’t have the answer except I don’t think it should be zero, that is, we should be responsible for some of it.
Up until a year ago, when I found out I had cancer, I would’ve walked away from my job for one with a better salary. My insurance plan paid almost every dime related to the surgery and chemo, leaving me with only about $2,000 in doctor bills to pay. I was stunned at how much they covered. No way I would leave now.
@ class – My employer goes for a straight 80/20 plan. But the premium keeps going up, so high that now they reduced down to a high deductible plan before the 80/20 kicks in. I’m not sure what the answer is and I expect that 80% would break the bank for a small company, but they claim that it is the ‘industry standard’ for self-insured companies…whatever that’s worth.
I would like to see a healthcare system that doesn’t rely on employers for group coverage. For one thing, this discourages entrepreneurs who could work for themselves and even start and grow viable businesses, but don’t do so because they need the group health insurance through a large employer. I know of several individuals in that boat. I don’t know that we need the gov’t. to provide a public alternative. Maybe we just need to redefine the “groups”, such as business associations, chambers of commerce, or even localities that offer several plans to large groups, so the individual signing up for the plan gets the benefit of group coverage at a lower rate than they could get on their own. Just a thought.
Lynn and Amy, I had about $6,000 in medical bills last fall and paid about $100 out of pocket. We are very fortunate.
My husband and I pay $500 a month for his ex-wife’s COBRA. She has cancer, although it is mild (such as it can be) and she could work. (That is, she is not going through any more chemo.)
I worry about her because I don’t know what she will do in 20 months when the COBRA runs out. She didn’t look for work seven years ago when they split and her contract job ran out.
My husband delayed getting divorced so she could stay on his insurance and then two years after he met me (three years after they split? something like that), she was diagnosed with the cancer, which made her even less inclined to sign the papers. Can’t say I blame her.
She’ll be able to convert to an individual policy, but she probably won’t be able to afford it. She can barely afford her mortgage now. (Sore subject — husband gave her the house, which was almost paid for, and she sold it and bought one 3x the price.)
I have been emailing my husband info about Starbucks and Whole Foods jobs. She could work there part time, get health insurance and still get alimony. She HAS to have health insurance. She can’t get MediCal. I checked. And WE ARE NOT PAYING FOR HER INSURANCE WHEN THE COBRA RUNS OUT. It’s not in the divorce agreement. Which she, an honors grad from Cal (which my husband paid for) read and signed, so she gets it. Or should.
Like many others have stated, it depends on your personal situation. When I was young and trying to break into the HR world I took a low paying, crappy job at a university with the great benefit of free graduate school. Because of that opportunity I got some experience and my MBA which helped me get a high paying, great job with great benefits.
I am a healthy very soon to be 32 yr old single female and I look at the salary first then I look at benefits. As I get older, this I’m sure will change but I am lucky enough to understand benefits and look them over to know what I am getting myself into. If I am going to make enough money to cover my out-of-pocket medical expenses then I can accept the crappy benefits but if not then it isn’t worth it. If I had a family, obviously I would have to think of what is best for them before myself. It is very concerning to me when employees have benefits, you explain everything to them and until something happens or a bill doesn’t get paid do they bother to care about how their benefits work, what they will pay and not pay for, etc. My other concern is how many people in the country are relying on our government to fix healthcare. Why do the American people always rely on the government to bail them out, fix things, etc., when it is the American people who have ruined the system? The expression “it only takes one to ruin it for everybody” comes to mind. I work in healthcare so I feel I have a sensible opinion on this. There are those certain few in the American public that have decided to take advantage of the system, get greedy, and become “sue happy.” Due to the many lawsuits, whether right or wrong, I believe this has been the main cause for healthcare costs to increase. Now I know there are lawsuits out there that are/were justified, I understand, but they all contribute. There are a shortage of healthcare workers in the nation, including physicians/providers. This also takes a huge toll on hospitals and non-hospital facilities not just in urban areas but in the very, and I do mean very, rural areas of America. I work in one of these very rural areas and it is very difficult to attract any provider here because they want to be near the action with all the amenities the big city has to offer. We have a very beautiful area with lots of outdoor recreation to offer but we don’t have any of the amenities locally. We have to offer huge salaries for healthcare workers to work here and to retain them therefore, this is passed down to the consumer or patient. There are other reasons of course but I should jump off my soapbox and let others respond.
My company covers 100% of our health insurance costs, but I’d be more than willing to pitch in 50% of that if they’d give us a basic dental plan. Root canals are NOT cheap!!
Brianna, I don’t know if this is an option for you, but I have had dental work done at the dental college (I had a dental implant done for $600 that would have cost $4,000 at an oral surgeon) and was very happy with the result. Two fourth-year oral surgery residents did the work under the supervision of a professor.
I also used to have my eye exams done at the optometry school. It wouldn’t have occurred to me except my cousin was a student there. It was less expensive than a regular doc and it was the most thorough eye exam I ever had. Again, students under the supervision of professors. One professor diagnosed something my own doctor missed — a potential reason for my migraines. I was a little ticked that my doctor hadn’t told me that one of the medications I was taking could be causing my headaches!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/7/751100/-How-I-lost-my-health-insurance-at-the-hairstylists
Okay, everyone stop what you’re doing and go click on Franny’s link above. Seriously.
Only now I just want to cry.
We HAVE to fix this. Did I say that already?
I did read Frannyo’s link, and I think this illustrates the problem with relying on employers OR the “public” to provide health coverage. The employers can’t always afford to foot the bill, and when they do, all the employees pay more for it. The public plans provide inadequate coverage and compromise care. This is why I advocate a group concept where the “group” is large enough to support the shock claims that come along without charging everyone more than they can afford. A large group can also afford mutliple plan options to allow a choices that allow varying levels of risk v. cost. I also advocate well care with incentives as a means of keeping the cost down.
@PeggyP I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, either. Let us know when you start to make claims on those plans.
@vikki Whoa, that’s a crappy medical plan. What a mess, this system.
@India Thanks!
@Shennee You are someone who would benefit from a thoughtful and affordable public option.
@Kimberley I think most jobs suck after awhile. That’s why I want benefits + money.
@Amy2 Wow, you know, I think there are some years when you’ll luck out and some years when life just happens and everyone gets sick. That’s why I like to call it ‘health care coverage’ instead of health insurance. What are you insuring yourself against? Life?
@Jon Whoa, thanks for your soapbox update. Holy cow, I’m so glad you are healthy and your story is an important one to share. Thank you.
@Class What if we’re responsible for a portion based on a VAT tax? Lots of conservatives love the flat, consumption-based tax for everything except health insurance.
@Lynn Oh be well. That’s a heck of a story, too. You know this world all too well.
@Staci I think many people support your idea. I can’t live in a world where we penalize kids with asthma or old women with osteoporosis based on socio-economic standards.
@Michelle That’s a very good story about long-term strategic thinking in your career.
@Sara Your soapbox is welcome here. Thanks for the contributions!!
@Brianna Ouch. Hang in there! Dental work is tough for many reasons including the price!
@FrannyO/Kerry Holy crap, that’s a heart-breaking story.
@Staci I think group coverage is still based on actuarial tables and risk, and there’s risk in life. When healthcare is a right, you calculate the costs and benefits differently. Also, there are myriad studies out there that show how incentives don’t work. If we really want to attack the real issues, let’s go after food companies, polluters, and other sources of toxicity in our lives. We have a good model with tobacco companies.
I’ve stayed out of this because I’m Canadian so the question doesn’t really apply (although we still have to get “extended medical” through our employers, things like drugs and dental care, which averages $50 a month) but I have to say that it is flabbergasting to hear stories about the ridiculous payments that people have to make just in case they get sick – and your government already spends twice as much per person on health care, per capita, than we do, WITHOUT a public/private system!*
Working in a job that I hate makes me sick, so I’d have to say that I’d take the lower-paying position in a New York minute. But I have that luxury.
* We don’t have a “public” system, really – doctors are still incorporated and run their own clinics, they just bill the government for their services instead of billing a client or an HMO. We also pay a premium of $50 a month if our income is above $25k.
Laurie, you wrote, “If we really want to attack the real issues, let’s go after food companies, polluters, and other sources of toxicity in our lives.”
First of all, you can do everything right and still get sick. And you can do everything wrong and not. My grandmother’s life of good health and living on her own until she was 96 was tragically cut short by smoking at the age of 98.
At the age of 61, my non-smoking, light-drinker, always-fit father, who three months earlier had had a very thorough physical to get a DoD teaching job, thought he had pulled a muscle running a 10K.
He hadn’t. It was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and he was dead in 8 months.
Second, I am very wary of trying to regulate personal behavior that does not affect me. People should be allowed to make the choices about their own bodies and their own health. Take away the cars of drunks and ban smoking at the DMV or places my tax money pays for and where I have to go, but if someone wants to smoke at a bar or IN HIS HOUSE or eat a twinkie, it’s his own business.
Renee, with all respect, Canadians pay the variable price for drugs that American companies develop. If Canada were our only market for prescription drugs, there would be no money for research. I met a Canadian med student this weekend. She laughed when I asked if she would return to Canada to practice medicine when she finished school here. No way, she said. She could NEVER make enough money in Canada.
@Renee I like it when people tell their stories, so I’m glad you weighed in with your own personal experiences. Thank you.
@Class I agree that we can’t micromanage behaviors; however, it’s not enough for me to say that people have ‘personal choices’ because brains are wired, in some cases, to misunderstand risk and focus on pleasure. We’ll just have to agree to disagree. I agree with you that the rest of the world benefits from the innovation in American universities; however, big pharma companies learned a hard lesson over the pat ten years. They grew into sales & marketing companies. Only now are they understanding that you can’t market your way into the next blockbuster drug. They’ve had to cut & slash & restructure everything — including R&D departments, which were focused on re-branding drugs and avoiding patent issues instead of innovation. Finally, I believe that everyone should tell his/her story. I respect Renee’s story, and if a med student from Canada wants to share her experiences, I’d love to hear her first-hand account, too. Class, we need to have a glass of wine with this discussion!
@class: That’s very interesting, because the average salary of a doctor in Canada is the same as in the US – and they don’t have to deal with malpractice insurance or the administrative overhead of dealing with hundreds of HMOs. That medical student also has had her tuition heavily subsidized by the Canadian government – it’s heartwarming to hear that she’s going to move to the US and pay taxes there instead of here. Lovely.
It’s true that we do pay less for prescription drugs because the government as a single payer can negotiate better bulk rates. (And besides, there are 10x fewer Canadians than Americans, so of course that market restricts potential earnings.) But more people are going without prescription drugs at all in the US because they can’t afford them, so I’m not entirely sure how that benefits anybody, especially drug companies. But don’t worry, China’s got you covered.
(I should clarify, most people pay for their own prescription drugs, but the government is the largest purchaser since it covers the poor and hospital purchases. It does regulate the prices for certain drugs – but not all – and, ah, never mind, it’s all here if you’re curious.)
Renee, if it makes you feel any better, unless the Canadian gov’t has some kind of deal with the University of Wisconsin, this student is paying her own out of state tuition. (Maybe she should have come here illegally and gotten the illegal alien in-state rate? Thank you, Wisconsin legislature.)
As far as going without drugs, I would gladly set $30 on fire to get rid of my migraines. That, or take an imitrex (a painkiller), which is pretty much the same thing. As far as I know, imitrex did not exist when I was in high school and still had the headaches.
That is one of the dilemmas. We have all these wonderful new technologies and drugs (what DID pioneer women do when they had cramps and no motrin?) but they come at a price. We cannot expect scientists and doctors to work for free. Yet how can we as a society tell sick people, “Too bad. You don’t have the money to pay for this treatment that might cure you.”
I don’t know how to fix it. Laurie, I would be glad to figure it out with you, but only if I can bring the Kopp’s Never Enough Chocolate frozen custard. And the cheese. And the sea salt chocolate.
PS Renee, the med student was not happy about the non-Canadians who are in Canadian med schools who have no intention of remaining in Canada for the very reason you state.
Ack! Fallacy alert! Undistributed middle! Just because a system gives less to everybody doesn’t mean it gives nothing – even presuming the premise is correct, which it isn’t (see above link re: doctor’s salaries being the same.)
HMOs make a lot of money, or they wouldn’t be in business. The government still picks up the people that HMOs won’t insure, which is where the risk is anyway. You’re not saving a dime. As I said before, the US still pays more for health care p/c than Canada.
There’s a valid argument to be made about not paying for that smoker’s third heart transplant, yes. But I’d rather that it be a public discussion, rather than be decided by some VP at an HMO whose compensation is the largest line-item in the company’s budget, and whose bonus is contingent upon denying service to as many sick people as possible.
@Renee LOL, critical thinking skills? On the PRHR blog?? I love it!
EHealthInsurance did a study on this focusing on the Gen Y workforce recently. One of the stats I thought was interesting was that 85% of the college students are counting on their future employers to provide them with health insurance, but 68% of them would rather take a job they liked without healthcare benefits than accept a position they didn’t like with a great healthcare package. Here’s the link: http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/collegesurvey