What happens when the spouse works for an employer that provides very poor coverage, but requires the employee to pay a very large premium? For some people, that, in theory, could mean a premium as large as their paycheck if they work near minimum wage.
We have to pay an additional amount if our spouse has available health care coverage at their employer and choose to be carried on ours. Spousal surcharge. Also, if you've osed tobacco at anytime within the last 12 months, you pay a smoking surcharge, which you have to pay until you have not used tobacco for 12 months. (includes smokeless tobacco). If you lie about any of it, you get immediately dropped from coverage, must pay anything they've covered (don't know the time limits on that) and you cannot pick up coverage for some amount of time.
Paying the extra spousal surcharge on my side is still less than my hubby choosing insurance from his work, even single coverage. The coverage offered through his employer in fact is so high I think it discourages people from opting in for coverage.
Since people think that health care is a requirement now, and since insurance companies are so expensive and invasive to everyone, and since medical professionals charge more now because the majority of people have some type of coverage (private or government) we are stuck with almost having to have coverage to even see a doctor.
Insurance companies are now some middle man in the way of affordable healthcare. We don't need government coverage for healthcare, we need to get away from insurance and go back to paying the doctors ourselves.