The chart clearly indicates "Family Coverage".....I don't think anybody is disputing what you, yourself pay at work for coverage. It just is not representative of the premiums for nation as a whole...... The Kaiser data is a survey of over 2,000 firms nationwide. It is very highly regarded and widely used in policy decisions both public and private. I believe it would be more representative of the broader national trends... http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2010/8085.pdf
Anf for your $1100 per month you get to squat in an emergency room with more Mexicans than were at the Alamo.
Of course not...I am suggesting that the numbers you have supplied are not representative of the screwing over that you seem to think all workers are getting. What crap. Can you ever post anything without insulting sarcasm? BTW...I had to go on an individual policy for a year and a half (five years ago, so ok... figure some inflation since) and I paid similar amounts for family coverage that you are paying now...and it was ALL out of pocket. That would imply to me that your employer is not providing you much in terms of health bennies.
I have a family policy through BC/BS that provides more than adequate coverage for my little family of 4 for less that $1100/month....
What it implies Stu is that my present employer doesn't pick up the amount of the tab that is suggested as the norm in that data chart........and I guess that chart has to be taken as gospel because I don't have the time to research it. It also suggests and I do believe this to be true that my previous employer just quit coming to the table and sharing in the cost increases at the same rate they did pre-2000.
Dave That chart is a national average. No One is implying that it is your chart. Average means some people pay more and others less. I'm sorry you are one of the families paying higher than the average.
As my wife is an RN.....working full time.... we are on her plan and now we do pay around the average thankfully. The problem before was that I made enough money that she was only part-time with no benefits.
So your present day employer has a plan well below national standards. Most employees have much more affordable coverage than that. Not even you have to use that crappy insurance any more because you are on your wife's much more normal policy. Yet you somehow morph that into we all support crap plans and want everybody to be on one...and hate children. I'm glad that you are on a better plan.
As to the taxes on those making 250,000 I offer this quote "first they came for the Communists, but I said nothing because I'm not a Communist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists but I said nothing because I'm not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, but I said nothing because I'm not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one to speak out."
Two rabbits meet on the road during Stalin's reign of terror against his own people. - The first rabbit says, "Watch out, they're castrating all the dogs!" - The second rabbit replies, "Why should we care? We're rabbits!" - The first rabbit responds, "Yes, but after you're castrated, who will know?" ......Popular Joke in the Soviet Union
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery..." -- Winston Churchill
Now Dave says we need the "wealthy" to pay more taxes. Today, the US Treasury ( the people you pay your taxes to ) announced nonchalantly that the ill-advised bailout of Chrysler will not be re-paid to the tune of $1.3 billion. That includes your money too, Dave My question is " why should we even pay as much as we do to this bunch of clowns?
On TV last evening they showed a calculation that in order to spend $14.3 trillion you would have to spend $1B per day for 27.5 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=J6TcpfBHlbs
I read this on my iphone and understood it to say you must spend $18 per day to use up the amount in 27.5 years and was thinking what the heck that's nothing...So much for technology and middle age when it comes to reading the fine print... RC