What is your basis for comparison?

Reader comment on: A Health Care Invention

Submitted by Bart I. (United States), Sep 17, 2009 13:47

You said: "As someone who recently lost his employer-provided health care and then went and tried to buy the exact same coverage in the individual market, I can testify from firsthand experience, it isn't half as cheap -- it is a lot more expensive."

Are you sure you are comparing the full cost of the employer-sponsored plan? Most people have no idea what the actual premium is. But if you want to keep your employer's plan at exactly the same price (within 2 percent), why not opt for the COBRA coverage? COBRA vs. private insurance is at least a fair comparison, and if COBRA is cheaper why not use it?

Granted you won't get the tax exclusion, but Obama didn't mention that as part of the cost differential. Anyway there is at present a tax credit worth 65% of the COBRA premium.

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The Future of Capitalism replies:

The

company

went out of business, so no COBRA is available. And, yes, as treasurer of the company, I was approving the checks to the insurance company, so I had a very clear idea of what the premium was.

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