A defense of employer-linked health insurance

The employer-based system provides a tremendous service to workers by providing a buffer between the plan administrator or insurer and the workers and their families.  The employer helps the employee navigate the system, is an advocate for the worker and frequently assists with claim appeals and disputes, not to mention assuring that premiums are efficiently collected.  Employers are also leading the charge on the health and wellness front.  Employers who seek to abandon this system out of hand should consider the consequences of having thousands of workers taking the time (on the job) to resolve the many issues and problems that will continue to occur under any insured scheme, but now with individuals left to navigate the system on their own.

I have been an employee-benefits professional for nearly 46 years and have worked with thousands of employees on every kind of health-care issue imaginable under every type of health-care plan.  Most of the problems are created by the patients and the health-care providers, not the dreaded insurance company.  That is unlikely to change.

That is Richard Quinn, of Verona, New Jersey, in a letter to The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 15, p.A7.  On net, I do not agree with this opinion, but this perspective is too often neglected in health care debates.