It says they pay extra to compensate. This gives the employee to choose their own health care provider. I would think that is better than having it chosen for you buy your employer.
Other things being equal, more choice might be better. But other things aren't equal, thanks to (a) economies of scale, which make insurance cheaper for larger pools, and (b) favorable tax treatment for health insurance when it's part of employee compensation.
That's great in theory, but given the absurdities of my dealings with my insurance company for my individual plan, I sometimes long for the days when I had a group plan.
Example: I was recently informed that I'm now one mile outside of their coverage area. Getting them to initiate transfer of coverage to a new insurer is harder than pulling teeth. And they offered to do it. But I've had to spend several hours on the phone with them this week simply trying to find out if they did, in fact, contact the new insurer.
Edit: Of course, they hadn't, but by a cosmic coincidence the paperwork went out yesterday, the third day in a row of escalating frustrations. I think they just got sick (pun intended) of talking to me.
