Policymakers are wrong to accuse people who might choose not to work now that they have affordable options for health insurance other than employer-based coverage, according to a post by Francois de Brantes, executive director of nonprofit Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute.
On the HCI3 website, Mr. Brantes wrote the "hue and cry" of some policymakers over a recent Congressional Budget Office report makes it seem as if not tying health insurance coverage to employment will lead to the country's downfall. The report, which was released two weeks ago, stated the PPACA is expected to reduce the total number of hours worked by 1.5 percent to 2 percent from 2017 to 2024, primarily because workers will choose to supply less labor because of the new taxes and other incentives they face and the financial benefits for some.
The health insurance premium subsidies are phased out with rising income, therefore discouraging work, according to the CBO. The reduced hours will equate to a decline in the number of full-time-equivalent workers of about 2 million in 2017, rising to 2.5 million in 2024.
Mr. Brantes wrote this is a positive development, giving more choices and freedom to people who previously worked two jobs to pay for health insurance for their families and to older people who were laid off and forced to take on "backbreaking work" to get health benefits.
"Should we impute that they are lazy if they can now make a different choice and retire to take care of an aging spouse, or their children or grandchildren? Should we deny them the dignity of that choice?" Mr. Brantes wrote.
He also advocated for states to expand their Medicaid programs, "so that they don't strip away the inherent dignity of the hardworking with crippling healthcare bills and financial ruin." Overall, he called on legislators to stop baselessly assigning values to their constituents and to abandon the attitude of "you don't know what you want, but we do."
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