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At one point in time people probably said the same thing about employer provided health insurance, and now it’s expected. Tough to get good talent if other companies are providing better perks

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Employer-provided health insurance comes from World War 2 and the US government locking market pay rates for the war. To compete, employers had to add non-monetary perks such as health insurance. Unfortunately we didn't transition out of this and it ballooned into the current mess.

In the US I think it's also a retention strategy. Nobody will just up and leave before they have another job lined up because health insurance is unaffordable. One US colleague mentioned $1000 per month!

It's a big deterrent IMO especially compared to Spain where healthcare is free

Honestly, I wonder what sort of aca plans you would qualify for unemployed? Certainly not a $1000 a month one as you’d be reporting no income.

Last I checked the feds treat income as an annual thing that happened a year ago. A six month period of unemployment does not mean your income is zero by their accounting.

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