Oren Cass, an economist at American Compass, in an appearance on Hill TV’s “Rising” on Friday, said that even as the economy is expanding, health care in the U.S. is becoming less accessible for average Americans.
“If you’re in the part of the economy that has seen wages growing rapidly, then you love the fact that health care is becoming so much more sophisticated and expensive and you can afford it and it’s great,” Cass said.
Cass said there’s a class disparity between those on opposite ends of the wage gap in terms of access to health care.
“There’s just an issue of a bubble: If you are in the part of the economy where things are going well it really is hard to understand and recognize that that isn’t necessarily widespread,” he said.
Cass said he receives criticism for not including the amount employers pay for health care in his index for the average cost for Americans. He argues that it better shows what health care costs for over half of working Americans who don’t receive employer health care.
“Only a little over half of Americans who aren’t retired get employer health care,” Cass said. “For people below median wage, most don’t get employer health care. So this idea that you have a job, you have good healthcare, that’s not necessarily true.”
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