America's Failing Health
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: August 27, 2004
New York Times
WORKING
AMERICANS have two great concerns: the growing difficulty of getting health insurance, and the continuing difficulty they have in
finding jobs. These concerns may have a common cause: soaring insurance
premiums.
In most
advanced countries, the government provides everyone with health insurance. In America, however, the government
offers insurance only if you're elderly (Medicare) or poor (Medicaid).
Otherwise, you're expected to get private health insurance, usually through
your job. But insurance premiums are exploding, and the system of
employment-linked insurance is falling apart.
Some
employers have dropped their health plans. Others have maintained benefits for
current workers, but are finding ways to avoid paying benefits to new hires -
for example, by using temporary workers. And some businesses, while continuing
to provide health benefits, are refusing to hire more workers.
In other
words, rising health care costs aren't just causing a rapid rise in the ranks
of the uninsured (confirmed by yesterday's Census Bureau report); they're also,
because of their link to employment, a major reason why this economic recovery
has generated fewer jobs than any previous economic expansion.
Clearly,
health care reform is an urgent social and economic issue. But who has the
right answer?
Please refer to the following
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