The cost of providing medical benefits to employees continues to spin out of control. And while access to affordable health insurance is important for many grounds, getting control of spiraling healthcare costs and health insurance costs is now a concern to many American corporations for another reason. With medical insurance being now the most costly employer provided health benefit, the costs of providing such medical insurance is making it increasingly difficult for American companies to compete with foreign companies in global markets.

The high cost of medical insurance is often a major reason cited for company layoffs, and outsourcing of jobs. Today in this country we are experiencing a huge number of jobs moving offshore to countries like India, China, Russia and Taiwan. Part of the reason there is so much of this kind of outsourcing accelerating is because American businesses can no longer remain competitive in the global marketplace due to the huge burden of health insurance costs. When we talk about the problems of lack of affordable health insurance in this country, remember it is not only a problem for individuals. Health Insurance costs are also a big problem for companies that find it increasingly difficult to find low cost heath insurance options. And this creates a viscous cycle.

As pointed out in Michael Moore’s recently released movie “Sicko” other countries around the world pay far less than we pay for  healthcare, and most other industrialized nations provide some kind of universal low cost health insurance to their citizens. All the while spending only a fraction on healthcare of what our government and our corporations are spending here in the States.

In America arguably the richest nation on the earth and the supposed “Leader of the Free World” an individual could easily pay $700-1000 a month for health insurance coverage. If they do not have an individual insurance policy, do not kid yourself their employer is paying at least that amount to cover them. Yet if you look at China, or Taiwan, or even Cuba for that matter, all of which have a national health insurance system, if an individual pays at all, it’s more like an average of 15 - $20 per month for full healthcare insurance. This is true affordable medical insurance that includes maternity, dental, vision, and all medical visits. The residents of China and Taiwan receive care that's arguably as good as the care we receive here and yet are paying 1/20th of the costs.

And who says you get what you pay for? Not only do we have a serious problem with providing affordable healthcare insurance solutions to our people so they can stay healthy and our companies so they can stay competitive and keep people employed, the United States has the most expensive health care system in the world, and we aren't even getting our money’s worth. We pay 20 times what people in China, Taiwan and India pay for healthcare, and yet Americans are not 20 times healthier. Quite the contrary, in fact we are the most chronically sick nation on the planet. Unfortunately America not only has a lack of affordable health insurance for many of its citizens, but we are quite possibly the least healthy modern nation in the world. We have more chronic obesity, cancer, diabetes, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and heart disease than any other country in the world, on a per capita basis.