12/10/2024
TL/DR:
USA healthcare is predatory. We have terrible outcomes yet spend millions more than other developed countries. It's hard to get affordable care.
EMPLOYERS: Stop preying on your staff by: a) denying new hires access to health coverage for X days. b) charging them thousands in monthly premiums to cover themselves and family. c) refusing flex time or PTO when they need to care for themselves or family. d) insulting them with inaccessibly priced Cobra. Stop complaining about turnover when you're hazing them in reaction to your inability to retain talent and manage your budget.
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The has the worst outcomes, high rates of preventable deaths, and low life expectancy despite spending more on than all developed countries.¹ We're the only industrialized nation without .² Read the news about CEO's assassination and the comments section on UHC's FB post when they announced his death. Even when we're covered, insurers often make it impossible to get prescribed care, and we're over it! Insurers are NOT physicians and have NO business dictating care!
Millions of have no coverage!³ You get it only if your job offers it, and it's usually only for FT staff. Other options are Health Insurance Marketplace plans OR being massively , , or and getting or . Medicare and Marketplace plans are pricey and often cover less than employer-sponsored plans.
Define massively poor? Before I do, let's be clear. HUD won't classify as , but IT IS. affects millions of people. Stats are limited since most don't seek or can't qualify for resources.⁴ ⁵
I was from Feb. 2015-Jan. 2016. My car and suitcases were my "closet" and all else was in storage. Thankfully, no one broke into my car! When I got my own bedroom in Jan. '16, I still couldn't split rent until Fall '16. I wasn't forced to pay nor kicked out at any point in time. In June '15, my deferment ended. I couldn't afford the payments. Instead of defaulting, a loved one helped me pay half of my monthly bill. MOST folks aren't NEARLY as lucky! I worked PT for $12/hr. I was a FT student and recently divorced. I applied for gov't aid in April '15. →Since I was Couch Surfing, I made TOO MUCH, was denied Medicaid and given (drum roll...) $16/mo in SNAP!←
Marketplace plans were too pricey. So In Fall '15, I was forced to stop taking my meds, after using the last refill I got before my divorce finalized. By Medicaid standards, I wasn't massively poor! THAT'S how difficult it is to qualify.
Predatory wages for the first 5 years of my career, SKYROCKETING inflation, healthcare costs, student loans, and car issues cause ongoing financial insecurity. Employers make getting and using benefits difficult due to: pricey premiums and deductibles for me and my family, refusing PTO or flex time when I have Dr. appts, limiting scope of care, or denying access to coverage for X days as a new hire.
Enough! We need Universal Coverage, like yesterday!
Nonprofits: Claiming to value social justice is a lie if you haze your staff! I don't use the word "haze" lightly. That's exactly what's happening. Staff have to "pay their dues" as new hires and often continue to suffer long after their probationary period ends.
¹https://tinyurl.com/589f9d2y
²https://tinyurl.com/5bnt7v9b
³https://tinyurl.com/2dchc7hr
⁴https://tinyurl.com/2ecvk263
⁵https://tinyurl.com/3527baxp
(CNN News) US spends most on health care but has worst health outcomes among high-income countries, new report finds | CNN. Associated research findings from the National Library of Medicine.
