Universal healthcare would probably not cost you that much with taxes. But instead a private company gets to reap all the benefits of your money.

It is definitely bullshit, but your employer isn't a winner here either, they're also paying out $600 a month for your $1200/month health insurance.

The real problem here is why the fuck does health insurance cost as much as housing in this country?

"You should be grateful, peasant. That's a good looking kid you got there. It would be a shame if she got sick. What were you saying, again, I just got a notice about a stock price increase."

As an employer I would LOVE to be shed of this system. I have no reason to be involved in the health care of my employees, and given the state of health care in America there is literally no upside for my business. It's all bad.

Unfortunately our system requires it, though. If I didn't offer health care and instead just increased the base salary I wouldn't be competitive. People would think I was trying to pull a fast-one on them, and few people in America know how to get health care on their own. It's a mess.

Your employer is likely paying another $600/mo for you as well, and singles/couples working for the company are actually subsiding your threesome.

The insurer-first system a stupid scheme that shouldn't exist in the first place.

Mine is about the same for family coverage, and the shocking thing is that it's pretty good relative to the market -- my previous employer was about ~100/mo cheaper for an equivalent HDHP plan, but I've seen much, much worse.

Honestly, though, even more than the cost (having run the numbers, the tax I'd pay in a European country to cover similar services is about the same, all things considered) is the sheer level of friction that insurers inject into the healthcare system. You have to get a referral to a specialist even if you know you need to see one. You have to get insurance authorization for specialty treatments. You have to think about deductibles and out-of-pocket-maximums, and Lord help you if you start having complex medical problems around the end of the year and the maximums reset in the middle of your treatment!

We pay out of pocket for a direct primary care pediatrician for our kid (on top of his insurance, to cover any meds or emergencies) and the fact that there's no insurance to deal with means that it's vastly easier to get a hold of her to get a medical opinion whenever there's a bad bump or a strange rash that needs a professional opinion. It's shocking to see how things could be if insurance companies and PBMs and for-profit hospital networks hadn't inserted themselves in between patients and doctors, with a sole eye towards making sure they pay out at little as humanly possible while maybe keeping patients alive in the process.

If you make less than $103,000 / year (family of 3) and pay more than 9.5% of your household gross income on healthcare premiums, you will likely save thousands by using your state's healthcare marketplace. You are likely eligible because they fixed the family glitch, now the 9.5% applies to the cost for family rather than individual coverage as before.

Although the subsidies will likely end after 2025 if dems don't retain a majority in house/senate.

It could easily save you thousands of dollars a year... Like I'm 100% of it... Ask me how I know, lol. Please look into it. I think you have to wait til open enrollment in December? or when your healthcare renews annually. You might be able to do it immediately due to "hardship". I don't know the specifics of your situation but I'm pretty sure you and a lot of other people here would save a lot of money. I would talk with a healthcare_gov or your state agency agent, they get paid by the gov't to help you through it at no cost to you. You can also get a low HDHP and get your own HSA to essentially pay no taxes for medical expenditures. I hear fidelity is good, due to no fees.

Speaking of which, is there an active financial advice community on Lemmy (like that old site that should not be named) like /c/financialplanning or something like that?

i get the feeling that society really doesnt want to spend the money to give people healthcare.

My options at my last 3 jobs have all been more than 1400/month.

Insurance is extra expensive when you have a family in the US. I'm single and my monthly cost is less than $100 a month. Having a family is more expensive for everything.

In the US during WW2 employers couldn't keep employees because of wage competition. This made war production extremely inefficient and slow. The War Labor Board instituted wage ceilings for critical jobs. But, they allowed employers to compete with health benefits. Employment and healthcare became intertwined.

After WW2 the War Labor Board was dissolved and wage ceilings removed. FDR, who'd proposed and implemented The New Deal and led us through WW2, proposed the Second Bill of Rights aka the Economic Bill of Rights:

• Employment

• An adequate income for food, shelter, and recreation

• Farmers' rights to a fair income

• Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies

• Decent housing

• Adequate medical care

• Social security

• Education

This would've disaccociated employment and medical care. However, FDR was labeled a socialist and authoritarian, demonized. We the People bought into the propaganda.

That's how it's been for eighty years: The leftists propose the same platform FDR did. And, they're told to shut up for disturbing the idiots running in fear of one bad choice or another. All that's changed is the efficiency and effectiveness of the hegemony's propaganda.

The private insurance industry is going to price themselves out of existence eventually. People are going to realize they can save an enormous amount of money by having the government act as payer for their healthcare instead of corporations trying to turn a profit. Healthcare already does not lend itself to distribution via capitalism, you don't show up to the ED and wave money around to bid on your bed. It should be based on need.

It's likely 1/3rd to 1/2 of what the insurance actually costs.

America is a corrupt capitalist hellscape. It's why I don't have kids, only go to the doctor when shit happens and never pay the bill.