Quote:
Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan
To illustrate how quickly things have progressed negatively for Americans, when I left the Flathead  in January of 1997 to come here, Boeing paid our entire premium for insurance, health, dental and vision. Doctors visits were a $5 co-pay. Prescriptions were either $2 or $5. I doubt there is an employer in this country who pays 100% of their employee's health insurance premiums now. What a benefit that was though.... and a financial anchor to the company I'm sure |
I've often wondered if American companies are at a competitive disadvantage compared to firms in other industrialized nations because of the US's lack of universal government-funded healthcare. That is, to attract and retain the best employees, businesses in the United States
have no choice but to offer expensive health insurance plans as a benefit, thus increasing their labour costs. In Canada, most employers will provide extended insurance (vision, dental, prescription drugs, etc.), but I suspect that sort of plan is significantly cheaper than the total health coverage that US businesses must purchase for their employees.
Has there ever been a study conducted to show the economic impact of privatized healthcare?