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Straight Story
Economics editor Chris Farrell
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About the author
Christopher Farrell is economics editor of Marketplace Money, a nationally syndicated one-hour weekly personal finance show produced by American Public Media.
I think you missed the mark on this.
You started off great - de-couple health care from employment. Then you fell off a cliff.
I think you need to do a bit more research into the real world of paying for health insurance without money.
Keep up the good work, though.
www.thehealthcaremaze.us
I also question Mr. Farrell's experience with post-employment "health insurance". Most employers force retirees onto Medicare, which has no broad preventive care (like annual physicals). So far I can't get one even though I offered to pay for it. Why not do a story about the physicians and clinics that merely pay lip service to senior health and whisk us out of the office before we cost them anything?
Chris Farrell's comments didn't make sense to me. He said "It makes no sense for me, and for my family to lose our health insurance if I lose my job." Yet when Tess asked if he favored Single-Payer, he replied, "Oh, no. There can be lots of health insurance companies vying for my business." And if you're out of a job, just how would you pay for the coverage? I doubt Farrell has experience with the health insurance market for individuals. Policies are expensive, exclude lots of things, and exclude lots of people. Furthermore, has Farrell ever heard of Post Claims Underwriting? Honestly, most public radio commentators and even on-air "experts" display a woeful lack of understanding of private insurance, public insurance (Medicare and Medicaid) and how utterly intertwined this whole corrupt system is. Public radio and Marketplace need to do a much better job on this topic.
Chris, Great story today. You're exactly right about divorcing health insurance from employment. Why should employers carry that burden, and why should employees be held prisoner? Thanks for saying that COBRA is a joke. We could pay $1,200/month for COBRA or pay for actual health care and meds-- not both. Pre-existing conditions keep us from getting insurance we can afford. Kids are insured-- we aren't. I'd buy it if I weren't busy paying out of pocket expenses.
