Access to Quality, Affordable Healthcare

In our country, quality, affordable healthcare coverage is treated as a perk – a fringe benefit that comes with a good job. It suggests that one’s employer and/or union has the skills and clout to negotiate effectively with insurance companies, and a willingness to pass on the fruits of those negotiations to employees. Like the nice house in a nice neighborhood (though less visible), it is a status symbol.

In any other country we would consider a peer, the only status implied by such access is that of human being. 

If I'm on a plane, I accept the idea that the person sitting next to me may have paid a lot less for his or her seat than I did. I know that the airlines 'segment' the market, discounting for early purchases, for prefered customers, and excess seats – while charging a premium wherever possible. There are abuses, but it's the system we have, and if I don't like it, I can take a different airline, or drive. 

I'm less accepting of the reality in our country that the person sitting next to me in the doctor's waiting room may have paid substantially less for the same protection that I have, or that he or she is better protected because or market segmentation practices, or other rate/availability discrimination.