Manager Buzz

If there is to be one lasting lesson that we should take in from the current economic predicament , 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 stock market dirty tricks but rather because they can’t stay solvent while meeting their obligations towards their employees’ medical insurance costs .

In fact, for each vehicle that GM builds, over $2000 goes directly to the endowment that the automakers have set up to deal with the growing expenses of providing medical insurance to their employees , past and present . And you just thought it was all about subprime loans .

As I write this, at the beginning of 2009 , the medical care industry is the single biggest industry in our country’s economy, as measured as a percentage of the GDP , or Gross National 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 proposition that will alter health care must make an allowance for the creation of new industry jobs, which will have an impact on the entire economy, as more people who find themselves unemployed or under-employed at the moment can be retrained to work the good, lucrative medical care jobs of the future ; such moves would have long-lasting impact not only on the broad economy and the individual persons who will take on those lucrative jobs , but also on the treasury and our country’s budget , as those new jobs will bring in tax revenue that will help reduce our astounding deficit and pay down the national debt.

And this is where universal medical coverage comes into action . When you realize that over 46 million Americans lack medical insurance of any type today, it is easy to see that by bringing these people into the system will only grow the scope of the medical 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 medical coverage , we can help expand those more lucrative jobs , while improving the quality of life of those who are uninsured , and getting rid of the wasteful spending associated with caring for the sick indigent by hospital emergency departments (the care providers of last resort for millions) and other wastefulness.

———-
The author, Jonathan Krakowski, writes a regular column for Life Insurance In-Depth and Auto Insurance In-Depth .