By
Nearly 50,000 members of the United Auto Workers began striking earlier this month, demanding that General Motors pay them their fair share of the billions in profits the company raked in last year.
The response from General Motors was shocking. The automaker, which accepted billions in government bailouts during the last recession, cut off its payment of insurance premiums for the striking workers.
As the news broke, former Vice President Joe Biden was at an AFL-CIO event, campaigning against a single-payer Medicare for All plan that would replace employer-provided insurance. “You’ve broken your neck to get it,” Biden told the crowd. “You’ve given up wages to keep it. And no plan should be able to take it away.”
But what if that’s actually the problem? Why should union workers — or anyone — be breaking their necks to get health care, a basic human right?
Health care has been a constant subject of debate among Democratic presidential candidates. Biden and others have argued that a single-payer system would be unfair to union workers who’ve taken pay cuts in exchange for better health care plans.
But, as GM showed, our current system turns health coverage into leverage for employers. What could unions could fight for if they didn’t have to constantly play defense against employers trying to gut their health care?
If we already had Medicare for All, the United Auto Workers could be using their collective power to fight for higher wages and better benefits. Instead, GM gets to use the health of its employees as a bargaining chip.
Auto workers aren’t the only union workers fighting for health coverage.
West Virginia teachers kicked off a strike wave last year thanks, in large part, to their own fight over insurance. The state offered educators two options: use a fitness-tracking app that forced them to earn a certain number of fitness points, or watch their premiums rise. They chose to strike instead.
Meanwhile, Americans already lose their health insurance all the time. That’s actually one of the biggest problems with the health care system as it stands.
Tying health care to employment is a terrible idea. In addition to failing anyone without a full-time job, it forces people to stay in bad positions just to keep their coverage. And when workers lose their jobs, they lose their insurance too.
That wouldn’t happen under Medicare for All, which would allow workers to make decisions about leaving a job or working part-time without panicking over their insurance coverage.
Then there’s the cost.
Health insurance alone makes up, on average, 8 percent of total wages and benefits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But workers are seeing their share of the costs rise at a higher rate than their wages. They’re getting stuck with a larger chunk than ever before.
Data shows that this burden falls heaviest on low-wage workers, who are already forced to spend a much higher share of their income on extra costs like premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.
By contrast, the Medicare for All plan now before Congress would cover all medically necessary services without co-pays and deductibles — an advantage critics like Biden rarely address.
Right now, the U.S. spends about two times as much as other high-income countries on health care, only to have poorer health outcomes. It’s obvious that the current system isn’t working — for union workers, or for anyone else.
No one should have to bargain for a human right.
Negin Owliaei is a researcher and co-editor of Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Jim says
It would work the opposite. Many jobs have attractive benefits such as free or low cost medical . Many weeks of vacation time etc. When these workers find that their take home pay will be dramatically lower to pay for Medicare for all (taxes) to get what they were getting free . Also to Bernie Sanders , please note Canada has 30 million people and the US has 330 million residents. When you add the illegals maybe close to 400 million. Anybody who does not believe your taxes will be dramatically higher with long waits and a cut down on non essential surgery’s such as knee replacements ,toe bunions etc .You are living in a Dream world
erobot says
As you may have noticed, many people from countries where health care is “free” come (or came) to the U.S. for care. That is especially true for the elite leaders of socialist countries. Government controlled health care like everything else we’ve allowed to be collectivized only means more public sector unionized bureaucrats making decisions and confiscating working people’s funds to further the left’s elite dream of total control of We, the (formerly free) People.
Wake up folks.
Pogo says
@Wake up. Pay attention. Think.
countries with private healthcare
https://www.google.com/search?-b-1-d&ei=ipiTXYOOFcPU5gK28ILICQ&q=countries+with+private+healthcare&oq=list+of+countries+with+free+healthcare&gs_l=psy-ab.1.7.0i71l8.0.0..31305…0.2..0.0.0…….0……gws-wiz._KpBgVGRXEI
health care quality by country
https://www.google.com/search?-b-1-d&q=health+care+quality+by+country
Sadly, people who vote for Republicans never learn
https://www.google.com/search?-b-1-d&q=Rick+Scott%27s+Role+in+Largest+Medicare+Ripoff+in+History
Richard says
You gotta love the statement in the second to last paragraph, ” It’s obvious that the current system isn’t working — for union workers, or for anyone else.” And to think that his president at the time, Obama, and Biden himself were the ones that told the American people that the new healthcare plan, Affordable Care Act, was “better than sliced bread”. Yeah right! Congress could fix this today but they prefer to use it as a bargaining chip for themselves as a way to control power over the American people.
Mary Fusco says
Richard, it’s really a rather simple concept. If you are on strike and not working, you are not paying into your health insurance, therefore, shockingly, you will have to pay the premiums yourself. Nothing in this world is free. Believe me, I wish it were. My husband passed away and now I have to pay COBRA for continued insurance. Who is paying for me? People need to grow up, get a life and stop expecting others to pay for you.
Mary Fusco says
Funny, over 40 years ago my husband was working for NY Telephone, who had beyond excellent coverage, and they went on strike for 7 months. I was pregnant and we had to pay for our insurance. Believe it or not, still here to tell the story. Medicare does not cover everything. There will still be supplemental insurance premiums to be paid.
tulip says
Mary F you brought up the point of supplemental insurance that most of us on Medicare pay for and that has been a question on my mind also,
When the candidates call for “Medicare for all”, are they referring to the Medicare we have now, or would it actually be universal healthcare renamed Medicare.
My next thought has been what if, starting tomorrow, we had Medicare for all and now millions of people are having expensive operations, testing, etc done all at once. Where does the money come from to cover the sudden upsurge in expense, as the “new people” now enrolled haven’t contributed anything into the new plan yet.
I am totally for every one being able to have insurance they can afford and actually use. Most of the deductibles and co pays are so high that people have to spend big money out of their own pockets first, which they can’t afford, before even being able to get anything paid for. Useless. JMO
Agkistrodon says
ONly problem is GM is CONTINUING healthcare for striking workers, so it seems Mr I don’t know Jack is WRONG. Besides, why should I pay to take care of those who Smoke, Won’t exercise, or eat healthy?
Pogo says
@Negin Owliaei
With fewer than 600 words (and a generous complement of hyperlinks that it is doubtful were read by naysayers) you have stated the matter clearly, logically, and honestly. The response of readers of this site, as I write this, is a pathetic tribute to illiteracy AND innumeracy.
Republicans, and trump, have done as much for healthcare as Mexico has for trump’s idiotic wall.
trump healthcare for all
https://www.google.com/search?-b-1-d&ei=50yOXf2kI6Xt5gKG5bPABQ&q=trump+healthcare+for+all&oq=trump+healthcare+for+all&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.334188.362441..363274…0.2..3.230.7253.21j45j1….2..0….1..gws-wiz…..6..0i71j0i67j0i362i308i154i357j0i131i273j0i273j0i131j0i131i67j0i22i30.JR0i2pmdEe8&ved=0ahUKEwi9tOKnyfHkAhWltlkKHYbyDFgQ4dUDCAo&uact=5
But still, trump’s followers cheer and plead for more of the same.
Pogo says
@And furthermore
The Fetishization of Employer-Provided Health Care
Democrats continue to entrench their support for a health care system in which class warfare is a pre-existing condition.
By Libby Watson September 27, 2019
“…Many leading Democrats are deathly afraid to take on this cruel, patchwork system in any meaningful way, because they have bought into the idea that it is political suicide to kill private, employer-sponsored insurance, which we are told many people actually like. We are told this even by candidates like Beto O’Rourke, who had previously supported Medicare for All. A survey conducted by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the trade group for the bloodsuckers in America’s health insurance industry, found that 71 percent of people are “satisfied” with their employer-sponsored coverage. (“Satisfied” does not mean the same thing as “happy” or “would be motivated to vote solely on the basis of keeping that plan.”) Only 49 percent of Americans even have employer-sponsored insurance, meaning that, with the most generous definition of “happy,” about 34 percent of America is happy with their private insurance…”
Link to full article
https://newrepublic.com/article/155190/fetishization-employer-provided-health-care
Randy Jones says
This essay claims “…health care, a basic human right?” I have to ask, when did “health care” become a basic human right?
Was it during the Antonine Plague (165 AD) which killed 5 million?
Was it during the Plague of Justinian (541-542) which killed 25 million?
Was it during the Black Death (1346-1353) which killed 75 – 200 million?
Perhaps it was during the Third Cholera Pandemic (1852–1860)? 1 million
Or maybe healthcare became a “right” during the Flu Pandemic (1889-1890)? Death Toll: 1 million
Or the Flu Pandemic of 1918? 20 -50 million dead?
Did healthcare become a “right” during Asian Flu (1956-1958) which killed 2 million?
Or perhaps it became a “right” more recently during the Flu Pandemic of 1968 (Death Toll: 1 million)?
Perhaps health care become a “right” when it was decided that a government (the taxpayers) had an obligation to pay for the healthcare of the People? I’m not sure of the answer? You?
Pierre Tristam says
Oh, I don’t know Randy, maybe when we decided that life, not just liberty or the pursuit of shopping sprees, is an unalienable rights (health care being a necessity to life).
Dan Floyd says
Oh, I don’t know Pierre, is it ok that I don’t want the government running healthcare. You know, the same entity that runs the bloated, excessively expensive, corrupt Medicare system or the wasteful incompetent V.A.? Why you people have such faith that the gov’t will do a better job when they have many millions more under their system is beyond me. Besides, everything the gov’t touches costs many times more and is much less efficient.
steve says
I agree Pierre. All we do is pass worthless pieces of paper back and forth anyway and frankly knowing our fellow men and women are healthy and wont expose the rest of us to some God forsaken pandemic seems a smart way to go knowing viruses mutate. We are all going to die from Sun exposure or famine take your pick so why not.
Traveling Rep says
Don’t look now, but it appears that Pierre has finally gotten a conscience and gone Pro-Life! Kudos friend!
However the false distinction you are trying to draw falls flat. The framers never specified that medical care was a right, but rather the right for your life not to be arbitrarily taken from you… Albeit, I am no constitutional (Dec of Ind) scholar.
BTW, the new website is aces!
snapperhead says
I think health care as a human right started around the time the socialist sky wizard was around.
Matthew 10:1
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
Matthew 9:35
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
Hard to find out if there were premiums, co-pays and deductibles back then due to lack of documentation.
Robert Gordon says
Reduce this discussion to a very simple moral question imbedded in this country’s social contract…should anyone have to suffer or die because they can’t afford healthcare? The answer has to be a resounding unqualified no.
deb says
Medicare is not Free as a lot of people somehow think. In reality, Medicare comes with a variety of expenses — including premiums, copays and deductibles. High earners pay more for certain premiums, and there’s no out-of-pocket maximum.
As long as you have at least a 10-year work history, you pay no premiums for Medicare Part A, which covers hospital stays, skilled nursing, hospice and some home health services. However, it has a deductible of $1,364 per benefit period, along with some caps on benefits.
Part B — which covers outpatient care and medical supplies — has a standard monthly premium of $135.50 this year, although higher earners pay more. It also comes with a $185 deductible (for 2019). After it’s met, you typically pay 20 percent of covered services. So there IS NO FREE
Pogo says
@Nobody said anything is free
Negin Owliaei wrote, in part (and included links):
“…Meanwhile, Americans already lose their health insurance all the time. That’s actually one of the biggest problems with the health care system as it stands.
Tying health care to employment is a terrible idea. In addition to failing anyone without a full-time job, it forces people to stay in bad positions just to keep their coverage. And when workers lose their jobs, they lose their insurance too.
That wouldn’t happen under Medicare for All, which would allow workers to make decisions about leaving a job or working part-time without panicking over their insurance coverage.
Then there’s the cost.
Health insurance alone makes up, on average, 8 percent[1] of total wages and benefits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But workers are seeing their share of the costs rise[2] at a higher rate than their wages. They’re getting stuck with a larger[3] chunk than ever before.
Data shows[4] that this burden falls heaviest on low-wage workers, who are already forced to spend a much higher share of their income on extra costs like premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.
By contrast, the Medicare for All plan now before Congress[5] would cover all medically necessary services without co-pays and deductibles — an advantage critics like Biden rarely address.
Right now, the U.S. spends[6] about two times as much as other high-income countries on health care, only to have poorer health outcomes. It’s obvious that the current system isn’t working — for union workers, or for anyone else.
No one should have to bargain for a human right.”
Here are the links that appeared in blue in the article. YOU have to click on them. If you didn’t – you didn’t read the whole story:
[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_06182019.htm#ect_table1.f.2
[2] https://www.kff.org/report-section/2018-employer-health-benefits-survey-summary-of-findings/
[3] http://www.milliman.com/uploadedFiles/insight/Periodicals/mmi/2018-milliman-medical-index.pdf
[4] https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/how-affordability-of-health-care-varies-by-income-among-people-with-employer-coverage/
[5] https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1129
[6] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more-for-health-care-with-worse-population-health-outcomes/
Truly, nothing is free – including becoming FULLY informed – being informed requires effort and thought.
tulip says
Deb I don’t pay any co pays, or have limits or anything on my Medicare. I have the “regular gov’t CMS” and not an Advantage plan, maybe that’s the difference. They do take $104 dollars monthly out of my SS check though. My deductible is no near what yours is. I definitely wasn’t such a high earner that I had to pay more in the monthly premium. I also have a supplemental blue cross blue shield plan of which I have no deductible, co pays or anything else. So actually I pay about $350 a month between the 2 insurances and that’s only for one person.
The candidates keep talking about Medicare for all but no one says what kind of medicare, deductibles,etc and will recipients have to pay a monthly premium plus 80% of their bill which a lot of them can’t afford either? These goverment people and candidates need to get out there with total straight talk about what different plans would actually be. Obama was evasive, Trump just plain lies and the candidates are evasive.
Sherry says
Thanks so much for your usual valiant effort in educating the FL readers. . . this time on health care. Unfortunately, many in our community care NOTHING for actual FACTS or Statistics. . . they simply prefer to consume and then vomit FOX talking points.
Mike Cocchiola says
There’s a lot of “I don’t want to pay for someone’s health care”. And some “health care is not a right”. I think these folks should pause for some critical thinking. First, whether we all pay some amount in taxes for universal health care (Canada, England, Germany, France to name a few) or pay a higher individual amount for medical care that includes costs for health care for the uninsured, you are paying the full cost. I’ll quote some studies…
“The United States currently ranks highest in health care spending among the developed nations of the world. According to data released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2018 (the latest for which figures were available). However, despite higher healthcare spending, America’s health outcomes are not any better than those in other developed countries. The U.S. actually performs worse in some common health metrics like life expectancy, infant mortality, and unmanaged diabetes.”
Every study I’ve seen shows the U.S. at the top of health care costs and nearly at the bottom in results. Please think about this.
Now, as to the right of all citizens to health care, no, that’s not in our Constitution. But, we have built a society that is based in part on equality and the pursuit of happiness. I think healthcare falls very comfortably in there without the actual words. I think we, as a moral and ethical nation, cannot let healthcare be based on personal wealth. We simply cannot let people sicken and die because they are economically disadvantaged. This would be a mean and venal country indeed should we stoop that low. Please think about this.
Really says
Elect Bernie then everything is free
Traveling Rep says
Yes, Venezuela is a prime example of the end result of what Comrade Bernie’s leadership would look like.
honorandjusticeforall says
You foolish republicans have NO idea of the huge difference between communism socialism, which most republicans seem to be embracing by loving on Russia and China, and democratic socialism, which gave us Social Security, OSHA, the 40 hour work week, worker’s rights, public schools, Medicare, public libraries, police forces, rules and regs for roads, traffic lights, airplanes, vehicles, buildings, electricity, water/piping, hospitals, etc., etc. etc. With your way of things, we would have lead pipes, all trees would be cut down, water would be polluted, no one would be allowed to read or learn anything but what you dictated, roads would be destroyed (republicans have already kept our national infrastructure decayed and hugely increased the federal deficit, putting us all in lifetimes of debt because to them it doesn’t matter despite the chaos and poverty created by the recessions and depressions that debt helps create). We’d be living back in the mid- 1800s again if you republicans had your way. Enough of Trump’s lies about what ‘socialism’ is. He is afraid of Bernie, but hopefully now our Constitution will allow our nation to get rid of a corrupt, lying, treasonous, treacherous criminal who is ruining the Presidency, along with all his blind minions.
oldtimer says
I’m all for medicare for ALL as long as we ALL get the same plan as Congress
Richard says
I will vote for Bernie if in FACT that I will never have to pay one RED penny for any healthcare for the balance of my life or have to pay for anything that I need in order to sustain my life such as RX drugs, etc. However, he lies just like every other politician does and will continue to lie because they are all power hungry and want to control the all of the American people.