In these desperate economic times, health care shines as a lone bright spot.
Merrill Goozner points out that the recent dismal jobs report would be even worse if the health care sector was excluded: “While the rest of the economy was shedding nearly 600,000 jobs . . . hiring remained robust at the nation’s hospitals, physician offices, diagnostic labs, nursing homes, and home health care agencies.”
Those who focus on cutting health spending invariably point to the waste in the system, and reforming this would cost the additional jobs that health care adds to the economy. Is the incoming Obama administration willing to make that sacrifice?
Goozner thinks not, as he thinks that although universal coverage is probable, it is unlikely that “it will be accompanied by more systemic reforms that might curb the health care system’s voracious growth — and the jobs that accompany it.”
Related posts:
- How tort reform can stimulate the economy
- Will the government delay comprehensive health reform?
- How the economy may make health care costs soar
- How will the economy affect the hospitalist profession?
- Rationing care is inevitable to control health care costs
- Tom Daschle withdraws, and how that will impact health care reform
- Gawande on health reform: "It is not single-payer"
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I wish that 20 years ago we had enacted health reform that moved us from employer provided insurance to individually purchased insurance with HSA. Those who don’t fit in that–the already ill late middle agers would have aged into medicare by now.
Those getting laid off in their 40’s would be able to, even if they have developed chronic conditions in the meantime, keep that policy that they bought 20 years ago paid up using their HSA funds to do so even while unemployed.
It would be nice, we could move around in our work, tolerate periods of unemployment, and even go self-employed without buying new insurance and getting re-rated.
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