As I perused my annual enrollment forms for health insurance from my former employer, it became clear that we truly need single-payer Universal Health care coverage.
I worked many years for Pacific Telephone -> Pacific Bell -> SBC -> AT&T. I worked long enough so that when I retired I would continue to receive health insurance for my family and me. While I am retired, I have a teenage son who is still in high school.
For the first two years my health insurance continued to be virtually free, as it had been when I was working. Then SBC announced all employees and retirees would be expected to contribute a portion of the cost of their health coverage. That year I paid $275 per month for health insurance. The next year that rose to $295.25. This year the charge will be $675.75.
As you can imagine, for someone living on a fixed income, this is a monumental expense. I am ashamed to say that I did not plan for such an expense. I foolishly believed my health insurance would continue to be paid for by the company I had worked for, just as they promised.
I am sure that I am not alone with this kind of problem. Companies cannot be trusted to keep their promises to employees. Health insurance companies cannot be trusted to pay claims for health care. This situation is just one more example of why we need universal single-payer health care. And, we need it now, not years in the future.