Claritin, the popular allergy medicine that does not cause drowsiness will soon be offered over-the-counter. Great news, right? Not for the New York Times, which grouses that mainly insurance companies will benefit from the reduction in price that is sure to result. As they put it: A Drug Will Cost Less. For Whom? Well, I guess it will help whoever is trying to pay the soaring insurance premiums. Hint: your employer doesn't pay your insurance premium. Even if he appears to write the check, the reality is that it's drawing on your wages. There are considerable tax benefits to this arrangement, but the illusion that health insurance is something that your firm "pays for" or "gives" you causes a lot of the problems in the health care system. Insurance premiums have gone up 25 to 50 percent in the last year. That's unsustainable for many small firms and there are likely to be considerable increases in the number of the uninsured this year. Surely even the Times knows that.
