This has been well understood in policy circles. The problem is that the employer insurance payment is tax deductible. This subsidy, along with scale, locks people into employer-based care through insurance. The Obama administration attempted to reform this by reducing the deduction on "Cadillac" health care plans but even that modest reform has since been scraped. (Insurance companies framed it as a "tax increase" when really it was closing a loophole.)

https://www.cigna.com/employers-brokers/insights/informed-on...