I am not an expert on the subject of Health Care Coverage, nor will I pretend to be. However, a thought has been running through my head for a week or two now, and I thought I would float it out for discussion. Could access to health care coverage through some entity other than an employer have the potential to stimulate the economy?
Normally, I hear from one side how we are in desperate need of a national health care plan and from the other side how the government is inefficient and national health care would increase costs to all Americans. Both are right, and neither has been able to fully solve the problem.
Still, I can not recall ever hearing someone make the argument that having access to coverage might stimulate the growth of small business. Well, my thought goes like this.
- How many would be small business owners and entreprenueurs do not make the plunge to start their own business because of the fear of losing health care coverage?
- How many small businesses are crippled by the cost of healthcare?
- How might this dynamic change if someone with a great idea could ensure their family independent of a company in an affordable manner. (Yes, I know individual plans are available, but they are extremely costly.)
- If the burden of health care were taken off of business, what would the impact be?
I think that the most important issue this year is health care and that it should be a much bigger part of the political discussion. I work for Boldmouth Inc. and have had the privilege of working for the Divided We Fail sponsored film competition at UCLA that is highlighting this issue. It is called Stolen Dreams and everyone, regardless of their political views, should check it out.
The website is http://www.stolendreams.com