The Ink-Pot and the Palette

I was quoted a figure of roughly $700 a month to maintain my vision, dental, and medical insurance. My pension plan allows me to remain part of the very large group policy that's carried by my employer for its active employees--i.e., the one I'm currently covered by as part of my job--so this is considered an excellent deal. A bargain, practically. A self-employed individual on an individual plan would pay at least twice that for this kind of coverage.

That $700 is not the cost of health care, just health care insurance, which doesn't cover anything at all until you've racked up and paid the deductible of, I think, $500 a year. When it does pay, it covers 75% to 90% of the doctor's or dentist's bill. The remaining "co-pay" amount can be quite difficult to manage.

This is the single most powerful cause of the decline of the American economic engine, in my opinion: nothing stifles creativity and innovation like the fear of leaving your entrenched job, and nothing makes people more afraid to leave their job than the prospect of not being able to afford healthcare.

I am keenly aware of how lucky I am to be in the situation I'm in, and even so, assuming that payment will pose a financial restriction that will limit all my choices in the future.

It's a shocking state of affairs.