Do away with work-based insurance

THE editorial criticizing John McCain's healthcare plan for moving the country away from work-based insurance is misplaced. There is little logic to basing the cost of medical insurance premiums on employment status. Workplace insurance arose during World War II because wage controls allowed employers to compete for workers on the basis of benefits only.

Basing premiums on group affiliation makes sense only when there is a statistical relation between the composition of the group and the financial risk to the insurer. For example, older people pay more for life insurance because their heirs are more likely to make a claim in the coming year, and novice drivers pay more for auto insurance because they have more accidents. Unless you work in a hazardous environment, the number or average age of your co-workers has little bearing on your likely healthcare requirements.

Administrative cost advantages associated with group affiliation could be achieved by establishing healthcare purchasing groups independent of employment, benefiting the unemployed and self-employed as well as the company employee. The time for work-based insurance has long since come and gone.

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