This is interesting, if unsurprising. Seems that employees of small firms pay 18% more for the same insurance than do employees of large firms. They just haven't the bargaining power to extract a decent price. Meanwhile, as we all know, the uninsured, when seeking treatment, pay far more than insurers do for the same procedures. This is why I find the retention of private insurers so distasteful: their business methods are inherently regressive, seeking favor with the strong and rich by jacking up prices on the poor and needy. Republicans are all excited about lowering prices for small businesses by allowing them to buy terrible, inconsequential insurance, but what about simply regulating a fair price? Or -- gasp! -- letting them buy into FEHBP or Medicare, and forcing private insurers to actually compete with the government programs?
Oh, right -- competition is only good when it benefits businesses, not consumers.
