Job-based Insurance Declines

The decline of job-based insurance is making employees scramble to find affordable coverage. ASU health policy professor Bradford Kirkman-Liff was quoted as saying "I think the job-based system is clearly no longer viable". Job-based insurance has always been effected by the economic climate, and every time we have a downturn companies cut back on health benefits.

This leaves employees increasingly scrambling for coverage just as the self employed have been doing for years. Every time we see a large company in trouble one of the major concerns they have is upwardly spiraling health care costs.

The local paper ran a story on a family of eight having trouble finding coverage and their family income is $80,000. They rocked along without insurance because they felt young and healthy. Now that they finally have coverage that cost is causing them to slide into debt. Somewhere I saw that the average cost of company provided health care has risen to $11,000 in America. When will the powers to be wake up to the crises that's coming and quit playing partisan politics.