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Old 08-13-2009, 12:38 PM   #161 (permalink)
rahl
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Location: Ohio
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derwood View Post
Question for rahl or whoever:

If health insurance through one's employer is cheaper because you're "spreading the risk around", why can't I, as a healthy, non-smoking male with no family history of diabetes, etc. negotiate a cheaper rate on my own? Among all the workers at the company, I would fall on the lowest risk end of the spectrum, so aren't the unhealthy people in the pool actually pulling my rate up?
You could try to on your own outside of work. But with group coverage, because the risk is spread around, you end up with a median rate for the whole company. EEonly is $100 per pay, EE+Spouse is $130, Family is $200 etc. Some companies I do business with have "healthy living incentives" If you are a non smoker you pay a lowe premium for health insurance than smoker do. I think this is a step in the right direction regarding insurance.

If there were a single payor system in the U.S. and we had to spread the risk of everyone in the country the premiums(taxes) wouldn't be fair or reflective of the individuals risk level, just like group coverage at work
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