The Common Sense Big Picture Case for Medical Reform
If there is to be one lasting lesson that we should remember from the current economic mess , let it be that the medical care industry in the United States is not well . Three of the most famous companies in our history, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, are on the verge of bankruptcy not because of Wall Street high jinks but rather because they can’t remain solvent while meeting their duty towards their employees’ medical insurance obligations .
In fact, for each automobile that GM builds, more than $2000 goes straight to the trust that the carmakers have created to deal with the ever-expanding costs of providing medical insurance to their workers , present and past . And you probably thought it was all about subprime loans .
As I write this, at the beginning of 2009 , the medical care industry is the single largest industry in our country’s economy, as measured as a percentage of the GDP , or Gross National Product ; in fact, medical care represents roughly 16% of our GDP, more than defense , more than automotive, more than information technology , more than any other industry you can think of. And it’s not close.
Any scenario that will alter medical care must make an allowance for the expansion of new industry jobs, which will have an impact on the overall economy, as more folks who find themselves unemployed or under-employed at the moment can be retrained to work the good, better-paying medical care jobs of tomorrow ; such moves would have long-lasting impact not just on the whole economy and the individual persons who will take on those better-paying positions , but also on the treasury and our country’s budget , as those new jobs will create tax revenue that will help reduce our astounding deficit and lower the national debt.
And this is where universal medical insurance comes into action . When you consider that over 46 million Americans lack health insurance of any kind today, it is easy to see that by bringing these folks into the fold will only increase the scope of the medical care industry, an industry which, as I pointed out earlier, is almost entirely domestic. By creating a way for these millions of people to pay for their own medical coverage , we can help create those more lucrative positions , while improving the quality of life of those who are uninsured , and eliminating the wasteful expenses associated with caring for the sick poor by hospital emergency rooms (the doctors of last resort for millions) and other inefficiencies.
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Jonathan Krakowski, the author, writes a weekly column for Auto Insurance In-Depth and Life Insurance In-Depth .
