National Health Insurance Minute

Well, I don't know where you stand on the U.S. government's potential for increased involvement in the nation's health insurance. I think it's probably obvious where I am on the issue. I'd like to see a national health insurance system, although I understand we can't get there over night.

You can't just obliterate the private insurance companies in a relatively short time period, as much as you might want to. Too many jobs are currently tied in there. However, over time there would be replacement jobs. It's pretty clear, particularly in light of the Baby Boomers' retirement, that the need for health care workers and health care administrators and bureaucrats is going to increase in the near future. After the Baby Boom passes on, the nation will go through a natural retraction in that industry. If we still have a mostly private system at that time, companies will go out of business and people will lose jobs accordingly. If we have a primarily government run system, I would speculate that the system would be more capable of retaining employment for most workers despite decreased demand. That's where government entities fit in the economy, into market failures, such as utilities. I'm way out of my league writing on this subject, but I am interested.

Oh, and by way of comparison, my Japanese National Health Insurance bill for a family of two is $75 a month. I think Blue Crud was about $400 - $500 a month.

Nice.