Finance & Marketing

Locating affordable health care for Americans is not as easy as it used to be. Many companies are now increasing the charges, for providing this service to their workers or cutting back on the level of cover. How do I know this, well because I am one of those people affected and despite a very good job, before 2006, the health care package at work was first rate. Suddenly, my employer announced it was getting too expensive and was switching health care providers.

To make the system fair to everyone, the health care provider would need to change. I am told that the new insurance package is still very good and I’m lucky to have it. I don’t mind other workers benefiting but it costs me more now, almost twice as much more to have my family covered in the plan. This means, that for my company to provide a health plan to all of the employees, it is no longer affordable for us.

OK, so my health care is still respectable but the new company that we have is not as good as our previous. In my opinion, the company’s search for affordable health care not only left all of us with a significant cut in our paychecks, but higher co-pays and more out-of-pockets expenses from us.

It makes more sense when you realize just how good the old policy was because I didn’t pay cent when I stayed in hospital 2 years ago giving birth to my daughter. Compare this to the new health care plan and I would be out of pocket by over 4,000 dollars.

But, this doesn’t include the additional amounts taken out of my paycheck, only the hospital costs. We are now seeing an increasing number of companies creating affordable health care plans. Those less fortunate can now get free health care more readily and workers without health care are able to join special schemes. I applaud the set up of these programs but not enough is done to stop those that wish to take advantage and ruin it for others.

For many people desperately trying to improve their situation these affordable health care plans are a life-line but to others they are just an easy option. Taxpayers, such as me, are contributing to the vast number of programs currently available. My employer definitely found advantages in finding a lower cost health plan provider for their employees! However, their money saving technique wasn’t good news to employees because suddenly we were making up for their cost cutting endeavor - by seeing less money in our paychecks. Something needs to be done in this country to offset rising costs and provide more affordable health care to those who are in need.