TODAY’S WORRY
First it was the loss of pensions and now it’s medical insurance. With the erosion of the clout of oranized labor and spiralling medical costs, many more Americans are going without medical insurance. According to AP, “The percentage of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes who lacked health insurance for at least part of the year rose to 41 percent in 2005, a dramatic increase from the 28 percent in 2001 without coverage.” It appears that fewer and fewer companies are offering health insurance and those that do are charging prohibitively. More and more especially young American workers are opting out due to the cost. They are playing the game, “You Bet Your Health.”
Why should business pay for health insurance anyway? There was a time, I suppose, when in order to attract workers, companies offered more and more perks. And workers were loyal to their companies. Now no one is loyal, company or worker. And business is finding that with the escalating costs of health insurance, it’s cheaper to have sick workers and their loss of productivity than to shell out the big bucks for insurance.
Where will we go from here?  Will we turn into a society where only the rich can afford to see a doctor and drive a car?