Summary
Medical insurance today evokes Don Corleone's question: "How did things get so far?" From 2000-'04, employee medical insurance costs rose 126 percent. Insurance premiums will rise, on average, to $14,500 per family in 2006. (Most workers have no idea their insurance costs so much.)
Things weren't always so expensive. In 1964, medical insurance - called "major medical" - covered serious illnesses and hospital care, including pregnancy and childbirth. My employer paid the premiums. We paid for doctor visits ($6) and prescriptions out of pocket. Ditto for dental work. So how did things get so far?See the full content of this document
Extract
Medical Insurance Monster
Employer-paid medical insurance got started during World War II. The government controlled most wages. This appeared to arrest wage- inflation, but it was an illusion. Millions of men under arms produced a serious labor shortage. Women were drawn into the work force to fill the need, but workers were...
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