[Tennisnut]

Originally Posted by blueash

Sorry, but there is so much misinformation in that post that it should not be left unanswered. Start with the obvious that you have never heard of a Health Insurance covering Viagra. You might start with Medicare and then check every other health insurance policy in America. I doubt you will find hardly any that do NOT cover drugs for ED.

In fact it is a duty for corporations to provide health care to their employees if those corporations are large enough to be covered by the ACA. And the corporation gets to take a huge tax deduction equal to the cost of those non-Cadillac plans so in fact the corporation is providing it at a very discounted rate. The law, affirmed by the court, sets minimum standards as to what that insurance must cover to be in compliance with the ACA requirement. A company is free to offer some less useful insurance if it chooses but the company pays a penalty for failing to provide adequate insurance. The insurance must cover preventive care, vaccinations, and all the components of care everyone would expect as being usual and customary.

So to say that the corporation exists in a vacuum with no social responsibility ignores decades of law. Corporations would make more money if we let them pollute, ignore safety and employee work conditions, exploit children, the list is endless. So corporations are interwoven into our society as much more than income generating tools. We give corporations special rights in exchange for their role.

The history of health insurance differs from your presentation. Coverage was driven by unions, yes unions, negotiating with large employers as a way to increase the benefits to workers without raising their earned income. If the employee got a raise then bought insurance the income was first taxed thus the insurance was bought with after tax dollars. Wages controls during WW2 limited the wage increases employers could offer but did not limit the health insurance benefits. If the corporation used before tax dollars the employee was ahead and the corporation got a tax deduction. So it could spend a dollar on salary or a dollar on insurance, a wash for the corporation. And health insurance has been paying for outpatient non catastrophic care for decades before the 90's.

Thank you. Maybe there is a role for Federal oversight? Very well said!