A Common Sense Economic Case for Medical Reform
If there should be one lasting lesson that we should learn from the current economic trouble , let it be that the health care industry in the United States is ill . Three of the most iconic corporations in our history, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, are on the verge of bankruptcy not because of stock market funny business but rather because they can no longer stay solvent while meeting their responsibilities towards their employees’ health care expenses .
In fact, for each car or truck that GM builds, over $2000 goes straight to the endowment that the carmakers have set up to deal with the ever-expanding expenses of providing health care to their employees , present and past . And you just thought it was all about subprime loans .
As I write this, at the beginning of 2009 , the health care industry is the single biggest industry in our country’s economy, as measured as a percentage of the GNP , or Gross Domestic Product ; in fact, health care represents roughly 16% of our GDP, more than defense , more than automotive, more than IT , more than any other industry you can think of. And it’s not close.
Any scenario that will change health care must make an allowance for the addition of new industry jobs, which will have an impact on the whole economy, as more folks who find themselves unemployed or under-employed at the moment can be retrained to work the good, lucrative health care jobs of the future ; such action would have long-lasting impact not just on the broad economy and the individual men and women who will take on those lucrative positions , but also on the treasury and our country’s budget , as those new jobs will generate tax revenue that will help reduce our shocking deficit and lower the national debt.
And this is where universal health insurance comes into play . When you realize that over 46 million Americans lack health insurance of any kind today, it is easy to see that by bringing these folks into the system will only increase the scope of the health care industry, an industry which, as I pointed out earlier, is almost entirely domestic. By giving these countless people a method to acquire their own health coverage , we can help expand those more lucrative positions , while improving the quality of life of those who are uninsured , and eliminating the wasteful spending associated with caring for the sick uninsured by hospital emergency rooms (the doctors of last resort for millions) and other inefficiencies.———-The author, Jonathan Krakowski, writes a weekly column for Life Insurance In-Depth and Auto Insurance In-Depth .
