Uninsured kids have insured parents

If you need another reason to get rid of the tax advantage for getting health insurance through your employer, try this. More than two million uninsured children (or 27.9 percent) have parents who are insured, often through their employers. In many cases these parents would be able to purchase insurance in the individual market for the entire family for less than their employer charges them just to cover their children. If the employer put the employee’s premium into a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), the employer’s contribution could cover the cost of family insurance and some of the taxes.

Let’s consider a state employee example, because this probably sounds implausible.

A 40-year-old single mother with two children can get a Blue Cross 70/30 policy with a $1,000 deductible for $475 a month, versus a combined $497 for herself and her children through the state health plan. If she went with the state’s standard 80/20 plan, she could save more than $30 per month purchasing coverage through Blue Cross. A United Healthcare 80/20 policy with a $1,500 deductible costs just $465 according to ehealthinsurance.com, a 20 percent discount compared to the state health plan for an employee and children.

People with health problems who own their own policy are also more likely to keep coverage if they become unemployed.