[quote=afx114]Why is insurance tied to employment in the first place? Can anyone provide a legitimate reason why it should be? Why isn’t auto insurance tied to employment? Why isn’t my monthly cost of beer tied to employment? It’s a burden on businesses, that much is certain. And of course it becomes a burden on individuals when unemployment is as high as it is now.

But single payer is socialism, right? Wouldn’t single payer free business from the burden of high health insurance costs? Oh, but that would transfer the burden to the tax payers, right?

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.[/quote]

I agree with you entirely on the first part. Insurance shouldn’t be tied to employment. That was a well intentioned mistake that unions made beginning 60 years ago. They made a 2nd mistake, beginning in the late 60’s, which I believe directly lead to current health care problems. That was demanding 1st dollar coverage. It inserted insurance companies into the medical decision making process, where they previously had not been involved. It dramatically changed the medical financing model, and as a result, it became irreparably broken.

But on the 2nd part, you are simply wrong. Single payer is not socialism. Canada essentially has single payer but they do not have socialized medicine. Most retirees in this country are covered by a single system. Medicare is not socialized medicine. You may be opposed to a single-payer system, but fearing it because it’s socialism is fearing the boogie man.