{"id":280,"date":"2019-11-05T16:16:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T16:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/05\/the-upside-to-universal-health-care-benefits-nobody-talks-about\/"},"modified":"2019-11-05T16:16:48","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T16:16:48","slug":"the-upside-to-universal-health-care-benefits-nobody-talks-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/05\/the-upside-to-universal-health-care-benefits-nobody-talks-about\/","title":{"rendered":"The Upside to Universal Health Care: Benefits Nobody Talks About"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

There\u2019s a growing number of
\nbusinesses that have kept quiet when it comes to the health care debate. While
\nthey may be all about the free market, the reality is that the exponentially
\nrising costs of providing health care to their employees is increasing
\noverhead, reducing profits and making them less competitive with foreign
\nmarkets.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

Many believe a universal health
\ncare plan \u2014 a government-sponsored program in which medical care is provided
\nto everyone regardless of their ability to pay \u2014 could help solve these
\nproblems. In short, companies could stop paying for health insurance.
\nPresumably, that means they could pay their employees more, although much of
\nthe increase may be absorbed by higher taxes to fund the program. However, the
\ncompetitive benefit for employers \u2014 both large and small \u2014 would remain.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

There also is a considerable
\nbenefit to those who would like to retire early, pursue a consulting career or
\nhobby income as a phase-in to retirement. Often, employees can\u2019t accomplish
\nthis for one reason: They\u2019re working for health insurance coverage. If you\u2019d
\nlike to explore ways to help bridge the gap of funding health insurance and
\nincome before you\u2019re eligible for Social Security and Medicare, you can contact
\nus to schedule a no-obligation meeting.<\/p>\n

Universal health care also could
\noffer an advantage to small businesses and entrepreneurial-minded people. Small
\nbusinesses would no longer lose out to larger companies when it comes to hiring
\ntalent, as health care would no longer be a competitive benefit. Employees who
\nwould rather work at a smaller company would now have that option without
\nlosing out on a robust health insurance plan.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

Employees would also be released
\nfrom the phenomenon known as \u201cjob lock,\u201d when many people stay at their jobs solely
\nfor health insurance benefits. This has a lot of downsides, from poor morale
\nand lower productivity to curbing labor mobility and entrepreneurship.4<\/sup>
\nIn terms of economic growth, small businesses account for two-thirds of net new
\njobs and represent close to half (44 percent) of U.S. economic activity. If
\nworkers aren\u2019t saddled by the need for employer-sponsored health insurance,
\nthey would have the option to quit and start their own businesses.5<\/sup><\/p>\n

This issue was recently
\nspotlighted by a report that over the past 10 years, the employee share of
\nhealth insurance premiums has increased 71 percent, while average earnings
\nincreased only 26 percent. Even workers with robust employer-sponsored
\ninsurance are increasingly paying more out of pocket. On average, employees pay
\n$1,242 (singles) or $6,015 (families) a year for insurance premiums, and
\ndeductibles have doubled from $826 to $1,655 on average.6<\/sup><\/p>\n

There are many other potentially significant advantages to
\nbroad-scale universal health care. First, it could reduce the overall cost of
\nhealth care because the government would be able to leverage volume to
\nnegotiate better pricing structures for medical services and prescription
\ndrugs. Administrative costs \u2014 particularly for hospitals and doctor\u2019s offices
\n\u2014 would decrease because they could file claims with a single entity instead
\nof multiple insurance companies. That would reduce provider overhead expenses,
\nallowing these entities to invest in more medical personnel.7<\/sup> <\/sup><\/p>\n

Since everyone could receive health care, there could be
\nfewer emergency room visits for minor ailments. Plus, there could be a greater
\nemphasis on preventive care, which is particularly important for children\u2019s
\nhealth but also critical to diagnose illnesses before they progress and become
\nmore difficult or expensive to treat.Together, these advantages
\ncould help reduce the growing costs of delivering health care in this country.8<\/sup><\/p>\n

Finally, universal health care
\nwould eliminate the need to administer Medicaid and Medicare programs, allowing
\nthose resources to support the larger plan. Moreover, some of Medicaid\u2019s
\nprogram benefits \u2014 such as coverage for community-based long-term care
\nservices \u2014 could be incorporated into the universal plan, which would be
\nhelpful for our aging population.9<\/sup><\/p>\n

Content prepared by Kara Stefan
\nCommunications.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1 <\/sup>Phil Galewitz. Kaiser Health News. June 7, 2019. \u201cWhy
\nSome CEOs Figure \u2018Medicare For All\u2019 Is Good For Business.\u201d https:\/\/khn.org\/news\/a-large-employer-frames-the-medicare-for-all-debate\/<\/a>. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019. <\/p>\n

2 <\/sup>Ibid.<\/p>\n

3 <\/sup>Gene Marks. The Hill. March 25, 2019. \u201cUniversal
\nhealth care would benefit my small business.\u201d https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/healthcare\/434981-universal-health-care-would-benefit-my-small-business<\/a>. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019. <\/p>\n

4 <\/sup>Allan Golombek. Real Clear Markets. June 17, 2019.
\n\u201cGovernment-Funded Health Insurance Is Essential for the Free Market\u2019s
\nSurvival.\u201d https:\/\/www.realclearmarkets.com\/articles\/2019\/06\/17\/government-funded_health_insurance_is_essential_for_the_free_markets_survival_103783.html<\/a>. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019. <\/p>\n

5 <\/sup>Small Business Administration. Jan. 30, 2019. \u201cSmall
\nBusinesses Generate 44 Percent Of U.S. Economic Activity.\u201d https:\/\/advocacy.sba.gov\/2019\/01\/30\/small-businesses-generate-44-percent-of-u-s-economic-activity\/<\/a>. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019. <\/p>\n

6\u00a0 <\/sup>Alicia
\nAdamczyk. CNBC. Sept. 26 2019. \u201cHealth insurance premiums increased more than
\nwages this year.\u201d https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/09\/26\/health-insurance-premiums-increased-more-than-wages-this-year.html<\/a>. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019. <\/p>\n

7 <\/sup>Natalie Regoli. Vittana.org. \u201c17 Universal Health Care
\nPros and Cons.\u201d https:\/\/vittana.org\/17-universal-health-care-pros-and-cons<\/a>. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019.<\/p>\n

8<\/sup> Ibid. <\/p>\n

9 <\/sup>Jennifer Tolbert, Robin Rudowitz and MaryBeth
\nMusumeci. Kaufman Family Foundation. Sept. 12, 2019. \u201cHow Will Medicare-for-all
\nProposals Affect Medicaid?\u201d https:\/\/www.kff.org\/medicaid\/issue-brief\/how-will-medicare-for-all-proposals-affect-medicaid\/<\/a>. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019.<\/p>\n

We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement strategies
\nusing a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and
\nobjectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help
\nyou understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed
\nas financial advice. <\/em><\/p>\n

The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable,
\nbut accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be
\nused as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any
\nof the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text,
\nplease contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.<\/em><\/p>\n

970900B<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a growing number of businesses that have kept quiet when it comes to the health care debate. While they may be all about the free market, the reality is that the exponentially rising costs of providing health care to their employees is increasing overhead, reducing profits and making them less competitive with foreign markets.1…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}