If you lose your job, you lose your coverage. That makes it a bargaining chip. The employer has one up on you in negotiations. When I negotiate my salary (my health insurance is not tied to my employment), I know that if I can’t work it out with my (potential) employer, and I get sick, I’ll be fine. Not so if my coverage was tied to employment. The pressure to accept an offer that’s worse for me would be much higher.
Yes it is. A repeat of a previous comment: