It's difficult for me to call those wages "real" when medical costs have been so absurdly gouged to eat up those contributions. Those increases have had no real impact on the average consumer, and is profoundly awful for those without access to employment that provides that insurance
That's not entirely accurate. Wages are real enough whether paid out as cash, or paid to a third party for the employee's benefit. Some medical costs are unreasonably inflated, but on the other hand much of the cost increase reflects greater capabilities. We can effectively treat many conditions today that would have been a death sentence in 1980, but some of those cutting edge treatments cost >$1M per patient. That doesn't directly benefit the average healthy consumer, but it can help a lot if you get sick.
I do agree that it makes no logical sense to couple medical insurance to employment. This system was created sort of accidentally as a side effect of wartime tax law and has persisted mainly due to inertia.
It’s somewhat misleading to claim that better care today is the reason for higher costs. Most other developed countries have some form of universal coverage and pay significantly less per person. That includes countries like England, Germany and Switzerland which also have advanced healthcare capabilities. Other countries negotiate drug prices, provide budgets for hospitals rather than charging per procedure, regulate medical prices, and have reduced administrative costs (compared to the US which must deal with the complexities of multi-payer).
That’s to say nothing of the fact that millions are uninsured in the US and have limited access to necessary medical treatment, never mind “cutting edge” treatments.
I won't attempt to make the counter-argument on account of being a stranger to America and it's healthcare system, but would point to the existence of this, just in case you haven't seen it.
