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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
No offense but you don't know our personal circumstances so you can't say for a fact that she is paying those premiums upfront by accepting a lower salary. She chose no such thing. I'm sure that some companies do this but not all of them so you really can't use that big paintbrush for everything. The salary she is receiving is what she would expect to receive plus her employer paid for her visa & green card (which is in process).
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Money for nothing, chicks for free.
Let's put it this way: if you believe that the health coverage is not a part of your spouse's total compensation, then you're saying that you could give it up and you would not expect her salary from the company to increase.
Surely that's not the case. There is no free lunch for you or the company.
For employment where the company offers health insurance, they certainly factor it into the total compensation. It just doesn't look that way because at no point are applicants told "Well, you can make 100K with health benefits, or we can take those out and you can make 110K." It's just assumed that, in the US, people want private coverage.
This is the root of the issue that came up during the 2008 presidential run in regards to "cadillac" health plans and McCain advocating that we accept the health benefits as part of taxable income rather than treat it as invisible income. If that plan had gone through, many with health coverage would have immediately seen a higher gross monthly income on their pay slips.
You're certainly right that I do not know the particulars of your situation. However, I know for a fact that healthcare coverage is not free; so if you guys are receiving coverage, then it is simply a part of the compensation package that the company decides upon prior to making their base salary offer.