Responding to SEIU's plans to create a health care pool for 18-34-year-olds, Avedon comments:
I like the idea of half the country getting together to create a union that, among other things, negotiates group health insurance for a large swath of people, but I'm not all that happy with the idea of young people being on a separate plan from everyone else who needs it more. It's an easy way out for insurers and it would probably only serve to obscure for young people what the real threats they face further up the line are.
True enough. Andy Stern is pretty sensitive to these issues, and he's been a loud voice proclaiming the death of employer-based insurance and the necessity for a successor, so I'd assume he'd work towards something integrated. I'm also skeptical that the SEIU plan will gain much in the way of applicants -- certainly not half the country. Nevertheless, channeling the young and healthy into a separate risk pool is a bad thing for everyone else.
