• Everyone who supports the public option just wants a handout. Anyone who believes that should be thankful they have never lost a home because they were unable to pay medical bills. Some opponents of reform even heckled a man with Parkinson’s disease today. That’s disgusting!
• Everyone who opposes reform is a bigot. Many opponents have reasonable reservations about the cost. Medicare hospital coverage in 1990 was 10 times higher than the original estimate. The fund for that coverage has been running a deficit since 2007. People who aren’t directly responsible for bills are usually less concerned about the costs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that, at the current growth rate, the price for Medicare and Medicaid in 2082 will almost equal today’s total federal budget.
• We need to focus on jobs, not health care reform. Health care costs are crushing individuals, businesses, and government agencies at all levels. If we don’t reform the system, the health of our workers will continue to decline. Related costs will continue to stifle job growth and eventually bankrupt our country. See this previous post for details.
  
• Most Americans are satisfied with their present coverage. Do the polls include people who have serious chronic illnesses? How many people who responded have used their policies? Most of my friends liked their policies until they discovered those policies didn’t coverneeded services.

Click here to read Part 2 of this series.

© 2010 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

This was published yesterday with a different headline and slightly different text. Today I also changed the phrase “local and state” to “state and federal.”

Last week the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that health care spending was 17 percent of the U.S. economy last year. By 2012, according to the report, state and federal governments will pick up more than half the tab. The recession has increased the number of people who qualify for state-funded Medicaid. As baby boomers retire, the Medicare rolls will swell.

Most people agree that health care reform is not an option. This video includes interviews with business leaders who support as well as those who oppose the current health care bills. Please watch, listen, and contact your legislators to share your opinion.

© 2010 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

Try to picture the American economy permanently stuck in the same place it is right now or in worse condition. That’s what could happen if extremists on either side of the health care debate have their way.

If the president’s enemies and defenders of the status quo win, the familiar cycle will repeat itself. Health care costs will continue to skyrocket and bankrupt individuals, businesses, and government agencies. When businesses move overseas, close their doors, or merge with others, and agencies cut their staffs because of the shrinking tax base, displaced workers will lose their health insurance.

These workers will join the millions of people who develop advanced chronic diseases because they can’t afford preventive or maintenance care. Care for advanced diseases is more expensive than prevention, and some diseases lead to disability. As you can see, the costs of doing nothing are too high.

If supporters of most bills that have passed related committees win, we could have the same result. In spite of the president’s best intentions, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says we would all pay higher taxes to fund these plans. Tax increases would further weaken the economy. Small businesses create most of the jobs in this country. High taxes leave them at a competitive disadvantage.

So, what’s the solution? Instead of wasting time trying fix the bill by Sen. Max Baucus, which has drawn bipartisan criticism, the Wyden-Bennet Bill or Healthy Americans Act is a good place to start. Though legislators have all but abandoned this bill, it’s the only one that has achieved bipartisan support. It’s also short enough for legislators and the public to understand.

Preliminary estimates from the CBO say the bill will pay for itself the first year and reduce federal health care costs afterward. It will also reduce costs for consumers. Isn’t that what we’re trying to do?

To achieve those goals, the bill features:

• a strong emphasis on preventive care with incentives for consumers and fair compensation for providers
• tax incentives for employers to create wellness programs
• premium discounts for participation in wellness programs
• health care exchanges that allow consumers with employer-based plans to choose from affordable individual plans that they can keep if they change or lose their jobs
• additional coverage for catastrophic illnesses that exhaust lifetime limits
• negotiations for fair prices on prescription drugs
• subsidies for insurance on a sliding scale that includes the middle class

The bill also:

• eliminates co-pays for chronic disease prevention and disease management services and related products
• forbids insurances premiums that are based on age, gender, industry, health status, and health history
• addresses long-term care needs
• reduces paperwork for providers
• allows patients in hospice to receive curative care instead of just comfort measures
• requires employers to increase the salaries of workers who move from employer-based coverage to a private plan
• honors existing labor contracts for seven years
• creates a Health Care Standard Deduction on federal income taxes that increases over time for everyone who files a return
• allows medical schools to report what works so new breakthroughs no longer get lost for decades
• emphasizes that only private funds can be used for abortions, a provision that brought conservatives on board
• addresses malpractice reform because the cost of malpractice insurance drives many good doctors out of the industry and increases the costs for all

The bill would be even stronger if it:

• allowed insurers to compete across state lines
• enforced or strengthened anti-trust laws
• prohibited insurers from discriminating against providers who offer alternative medicine treatments
• included an automatic trigger for a public plan in states where insurers don’t provide affordable coverage

Now that doesn’t seem so hard. Why hasn’t a sensible plan like this been accepted by the majority of legislators?

Conservatives and Progressives both dislike that the bill requires everyone to have coverage.  Conservatives believe this provision is unconstitutional. Progressives believe insurance companies are the root of all evil. The mandate may be unnecessary with the bill’s subsidies and emphasis on prevention.

Progressives also dislike the bill’s incentives to move people from public to private plans. In spite of the criticism hurled at private insurance companies, public programs have weakened both the health care system and the national economy. Capitalism drives efficiency and creates jobs in this country. It works on the law of supply and demand. Public programs decrease both. They also cause smaller insurers (and other businesses) to merge and go out of business because the pool of customers is too small. If we move more people into the private system and enforce anti-trust laws, smaller companies should be able to provide real competition.

Now that we’ve found a workable solution, can we stop calling each other names, pass something, and move on to dealing with other important issues. Our economy is going flat while we’re out here fighting like children.

—-
Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

© 2009 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

The Republicans are too busy playing mind games to effectively explain that our social obligations have played a part in destroying the economy. Europe’s economy has fared even worse than ours. A larger percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP), the measure of a country’s economic performance, goes to social programs.

On the other hand, Democrats and most independents understand that the unregulated free market pushed us to the edge of economic collapse. Skyrocketing health care expenses played a major part.

Now comes the tricky part. The government usually does a miserable job at righting wrongs. It tends to swing toward one extreme or the other. In this case, both the Democratic and Republican plans also lack serious strategies to contain medical costs, the whole reason for this debate.

The best solution is to include natural health care in both public and private plans. Some treatments have been proven to prevent or reverse chronic disease. Of course we’d need to bail out medical facilities, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers, but that’s a subject for another day.

© 2009 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

This bill shows an amazing grasp of the complexities of the current economic crisis. It addresses immediate needs and makes a down payment on long term goals while reducing the stresses that can lead to chronic illness and higher health care costs in the future.

Implementation of this bill could substantially reduce entitlement spending in several areas and reduce the burden for all taxpayers by addressing the following issues:

• The increases in food stamps and food services for the elderly will promote better nutrition to reduce health care costs
• Vocational rehabilitation and public service opportunities will allow the disabled and the able seniors to reduce their reliance on public aid
• Increases in unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and COBRA insurance for those who have lost their jobs will help them meet basic needs, maintain their health, reduce costs associated with advanced stages of disease that result from lack of treatment, and preserve some jobs in the retail and health care sectors
• Funds for job retraining, work study, Pell grants, and research will prepare the country and its citizens for the jobs of the future
• Infrastructure projects and loans will create new businesses and help existing ones retain current employees and hire displaced workers from the housing and auto industries and other sectors who have transferable skills
• Green jobs will create a healthier environment and reduce the pollution that contributes to chronic disease while reducing the need for assistance with energy bills
• Funds to train primary care workers will avert the consequences of a shortage when they will be needed to provide care that reduces the cost of chronic diseases
• When basic opportunities are available for the strong and basic needs are provided for the weak, fewer people enter the criminal justice system and related expenses are reduced

The bill reduces waste by utilizing public and non-profit organizations that are experienced in meeting the challenges we face and have accountability procedures in place. It also preserves jobs in those sectors and provides protection for whistleblowers who wish to report fraudulent use of taxpayer dollars.

By providing economic opportunities for a broader cross-section of society, this bill can broaden the tax base, help reduce chronic illness, and reduce dependence on entitlement programs. That can lower the tax burden for all if coupled with a more judicious use of military force. The financial sector will only return to health when the people can afford their services.

The Republican response to the bill is an example of why they don’t need to be in charge of the country’s business anytime soon. Their ideas are based on the myth that everyone can pull themselves up from their bootstraps. They don’t understand the impact of unfair public policy on average citizens. Unless they gain an understanding of the issues that face common people, they will remain the party of a vanishing breed: people who are actually thriving under their policies.

—-

Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

© 2009 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

This recession is the result of policies we all supported, fought, or ignored for selfish reasons. Some of us just gave up and let the bad guys win.

The last election showed us that we can make a difference. If we don’t use our new power to help each other and live what we know is right, we’ll never get out of this mess. Now is the time to demand policies that provide opportunity for those who are willing and able to work, support the weak, and protect the taxpayers. In addition to the obvious need for more regulation and oversight in the financial services industry, here are other ways to move forward:

Help cities build mixed income, green communities. Seattle’s High Point neighborhood is a good example. High Point is a 100-acre master planned community. Its energy efficient condos and townhomes are available for sale or for rent at market and subsidized rates. Members of the community mingle with each other in 20 acres of parks and playgrounds, on front porches, or along tree-lined sidewalks and trails. The library and community health center are already open for business. A community rec center and neighborhood shopping are in the works.

Place high quality public charter and magnet schools in each community. Parents often relocate to ensure that their children receive a good education. A return to neighborhood schools will increase parent involvement and student achievement. Students can walk to schools in their neighborhoods, which will reduce or eliminate the need for busing. Busing students across town produces obese children, wastes taxpayer dollars, and fragments communities. Most people want to surround themselves with people who have similar values, goals, and experiences. That may not be right or politically correct, but it’s human nature. Even those of us who think we’re open-minded like to surround ourselves with other open-minded people.

Increase funding for research. Our country is falling behind industrialized and some emerging nations because we don’t value deep thought. We’ll need deep thinkers to develop the technologies and processes that will help us get out of this mess.

Develop trade and foreign policies that benefit others without hurting ourselves. Foreign aid workers, missionaries, diplomats, and military commanders agree that world conflicts cannot be solved with military might alone. People around the world share many of our same concerns. Most of them want to earn a living, educate their children, gain and maintain health, and live in healthful surroundings. By exporting the technologies and teaching them the processes we develop to meet our own challenges in these areas, we can reduce conflicts and reduce the trade deficit without abusing workers in this country or others.

© 2008 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

The United States has lost more than 3.2 million factory jobs since 2000. That total excludes jobs that have been lost in other sectors and more than a million that have disappeared so far this year.

Experts predict that this downward trend will continue as 6100 retail stores close by the end of the year and another 14,000 in 2009. War veterans are returning home to find that they also have joined the ranks of the unemployed. Employers in every sector are announcing more job cuts daily. Many displaced workers have moved into lower paying jobs in the service sector, which also is beginning to shrink.

With or without government assistance, the auto industry will be forced to shed still more jobs as the rising unemployment rate decreases purchasing power throughout the country. Lenders will continue to limit access to the credit the industry needs to sell its products.

In light of these facts, recovery plans must focus on creating jobs that pay a living wage and leave room in household budgets to pay for emergencies and save for luxuries. Without those jobs, the economy will continue to collapse, and there won’t be enough tax revenues to repay the escalating debt.

We must also correct the imbalance in financial and human capital. The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis says the financial services industry, including real estate, accounted for 21 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006. Businesses related to the auto industry currently account for another 4 percent and 1 in 10 American jobs. The housing crisis has reduced employment in financial services. Expansion of public transportation and competition from foreign automakers could further reduce auto sales.

New policies should attempt to save as many jobs as possible without postponing inevitable contractions in certain areas. If those policies don’t point us toward the future, America will be left behind in the global economy.

Chinese officials are recruiting unemployed workers from the financial services industry to help them move forward. Even medical professionals are losing their jobs in this economy, and will surely join the exodus. Still more are voluntarily leaving patient care because the stress and expense of caring for chronically ill patients is destroying their personal lives. This talent pool cannot be replenished overnight.

The return to a focus on providing necessary services is the solution. By enacting aggressive reforms in business, education, and health policy, the incoming administration can save jobs, create new ones, and save money at the same time. In addition to the suggestions in my first post on this subject, here are new ones that could move the country in the right direction:

Offer microcredit loans through the Small Business Administration (SBA). Large corporations will never be able to absorb all the displaced workers.

Enlist the help of Teach for America to prepare some displaced workers and business leaders to change America’s schools. This organization has an excellent reputation for quickly retraining people from a variety of backgrounds to teach America’s troubled youth, who are dropping out of school at an alarming rate. A well-trained workforce is essential to meet the demands of the 21st century. Our educational institutions prepare students for 20th century jobs that no longer exist. Teachers placed through Teach for America have a two year commitment, with the option of staying put if things go well. That will give them time to find other work if they discover teaching is not a good fit. With wisdom forged by real world experience, workers and leaders could help shape education programs that include courses in entrepreneurship, the backbone of the American economy. After school programs staffed by this new force could also provide relief for cash-strapped parents.

Increase funding for college work study programs. Displaced workers will need income as they develop new skills to reenter the work force. Overworked instructors could also use extra help from disciplined, motivated students who have real life experience.

Work with labor and business leaders to create policies that reduce stress, the main cause of chronic illness. Balance pay cuts and increased job security with frequent breaks, onsite adult and child care, onsite health care and fitness programs, flexible hours, increases in paid personal leave, continuing education, and other perks that increase productivity, reduce the need for higher wages, and make companies more competitive. Businesses that have adopted such polices have saved money on health care costs and increased productivity.

Dramatically increase payments for preventive health care. Treatments for advanced chronic illness are costly.

Pay family caregivers. According to Medical News Today, about 34 million caregivers provided about $375 billion in free services to family and friends last year. These caregivers often leave their jobs and neglect their own health to provide full-time care and delay or eliminate the need to place their loved ones in nursing homes.

Ask patients and leaders in medicine to suggest immediate practical changes for Medicaid and Medicare. Both programs spend more money trying to save money than it would cost to just cover some services. These ridiculous practices are driving many doctors to refuse patients serviced by these programs.

Incorporate natural medicine into mainstream care. Patients and professionals alike are finding that natural protocols often work best with chronic illnesses, especially in the early stages. Bastyr University in Seattle has received several research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and operates a clinic that offers alternative medicine services to the public. Doctors of functional medicine also claim dramatic results with their holistic treatments for chronic diseases. When combined with preventive care and changes in Medicare and Medicaid, the savings could reduce the budget enough to pay for universal coverage and save millions of jobs.

Unless some new disaster rears its ugly head over the next week, my next post will address practical long-term solutions to domestic and foreign policy challenges.

Click the appropriate links to read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 4 of this series.

© 2008 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

While everyone seems to be looking for someone else to blame, we’ve forgotten something important. We’ve all contributed to this economic crisis. The results seem like the remake of a bad movie that could have played in ancient times.

The Apostle Paul summed it up clearly in 1 Timothy 6:10: “But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.” (The Message)

King Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, also spoke the following words that were recorded in Ecclesiastes 5:10 and still apply to our situation today: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.” (New American Standard Version)

We’ve all bought things we didn’t need, sometimes with money we didn’t have. Now we’ve learned the hard way that life in “Never Never Land” isn’t quite what we expected. Because we were so willing to sacrifice the future to satisfy the desires of the present, we don’t know where to turn for help now that the future is staring us in the face.

Only God has all the answers. Those of us who believe in Him should pray for His forgiveness and direction and for our ability to hear Him clearly. Even if we hear Him, He won’t provide quick or easy solutions. He doesn’t operate that way when we’ve strayed. Like any good parent, He wants to make sure we’ve learned our lesson so we won’t forget what we’ve done wrong.

It’s time to accept that things will not be the same in the near future, if ever. With that fact in mind, let’s try to work together through the next steps.

After my last post, I had planned to suggest solutions to problems in domestic and foreign policy that affect our health. My previous list of short-term solutions proved too ambitious, and what once seemed intermediate now poses a very present danger. With that in mind, please allow me to revisit some issues from last week.

Several new plans are in the works to address the mortgage problem. Sheila Bair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) showed compassion for homeowners and empathy with lenders in the plan she proposed last Friday. Though Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is not in favor of the plan, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has publicly urged him to support it. On Wednesday the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also announced changes to its Hope for Homeowners program. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., applauded the announcement, but said further steps may be necessary. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac next threw their hats into the ring today, according to Reuters News. Their plan will halt foreclosures from November 26 through January 9, which will give lenders time to rework troubled loans.

No plan has yet been announced to deal with the glut of homes that are already on the market. Until leaders address that problem, credit may still be hard to come by, and the bailout plans under consideration for the auto industry will surely fail.

The bipartisan plan presented in the Senate today by two Democrats and two Republicans would allow automakers to divert the $25 billion that Congress has already allotted them for retooling their plants toward meeting the current crisis. Without retooling, the industry will die because it will fall farther behind foreign automakers who are already reaching the growing market for energy-efficient cars.

Democrats in both houses have demanded that the automakers present a survival plan before they will agree to loan them the additional $25 billion they say is needed to help them get by. Without access to credit, consumers still will not be able to buy the cars that will help automakers generate income to repay the loan.

Automakers say millions of jobs that depend on their survival will be lost if our country’s leaders don’t help them stave off bankruptcy. It’s not fair to penalize hard working people who have no control over any of this mess while we bail out the financial services industry that was at the center of this economic earthquake.

Until someone comes up with a plan to clear excess houses from the market, the automakers are doomed to fail with or without our help. While they develop overdue plans to move toward the future, Congress needs to finish cleaning up the problem that started this whole mess.

© 2008 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

Most people in America understand that radical change is overdue in this country. The votes they cast in the last election signaled this basic understanding. Few people who cast those votes understand how much change is needed to save the U.S. economy and economies around the world.

Low wages don’t leave room in family budgets for health care expenses. Inflexible work schedules and long hours don’t leave time for workers to do what it takes to prevent disease. The resulting chronic illnesses make workers less productive and increase health care costs for employers.

Employers reduce expenses by slashing some jobs, moving others to foreign countries, and cutting work hours for remaining employees. That leaves employees without the means to pay for retraining programs that can prepare them to find better jobs. They stop making payments on second mortgages and credit cards that have helped them live beyond their means.

Unemployed and underemployed workers apply for public assistance as the tax base that pays for the assistance shrinks. People who once supported non-profit agencies that help the needy now seek help from those agencies. The agencies must turn people away.

Next add to the mix students who have borrowed heavily to prepare for jobs that aren’t there and now can’t repay their loans. This leaves lenders reluctant to lend money to anyone. Businesses that depend upon credit lay off more workers or close their doors. Tax revenues decrease even more, which leads government officials to slash budgets and lay off still more workers.

The list of people who have been reduced to buying just necessities, when they can afford them, is growing daily. When we stop buying, people in other countries who grow or manufacture many of the goods we used to buy make less money. They, in turn, purchase fewer products from us.

The country has not faced this many challenges since the American Revolution, says Nouriel Roubini, Associate Professor of Economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business and former adviser to the U.S. Treasury Department.

In a consumer-driven society, there can be no stability on Wall Street without stability on Main Street. In spite of this fact, most of the aid in this economic crisis has been directed toward the financial services industry. The new man in town promised to change all that, and the people voted to let him try.

Reports are circulating that President-elect Obama’s advisers are weighing the political consequences of pushing incremental versus rapid changes. In a democratic society, the people must be willing to come along for the ride, but they will only continue the journey if they see results.

Effective solutions will involve careful planning that addresses short-term, intermediate, and long-term needs. Here are my suggestions for the next phase of the new American Revolution:

Meet again with lenders to develop and enforce a mandatory plan for restructuring mortgages. The new loans should be closer to 30 percent of an applicant’s available income. That was the accepted standard before the housing crisis began. The plan announced earlier this week will allow buyers to pay up to 38 percent of income. It also reduces the lending rate for only five years before it begins to slowly climb again. Both Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Bruce Marks, head of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), have said the new plan is not good enough.

Rewrite new mortgages to include penalties for anyone who abandons a home. Some mortgages include “no recourse” provisions. Many lenders are waiting for a government bailout, and more people are shirking their responsibilities every day. The government can’t continue to reward bad behavior.  City and state officials also need to know how much tax revenue they will have to meet their obligations.

Recognize that we have a housing crisis, not a mortgage crisis. Allan Meltzer, economist and professor of Political Economy at Carnegie Mellon University, says housing prices won’t stop falling and credit won’t ease until the excess supply of homes decreases and the balance sheets at financial institutions stop shrinking. Meltzer proposes a tax credit through the end of next year for those who purchase homes that have already been foreclosed. This move will kick start the slumping construction industry as well.

Merge General Motors with one of the other “big three” automakers, then allow the remaining companies to reorganize under bankruptcy protection. This idea came from both Bill Ackman, CEO of hedge fund management company Pershing Square Capital Management, and Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist and professor. U.S. automakers aren’t prepared to meet the challenges of today or those of tomorrow. Bankruptcy will force them to develop long-range strategies.

Recognize that we have a service-based economy. Our economy is imploding because we have forgotten a basic principle of good business–find a need and fill it. Low-, medium-, and high-skilled workers are needed in all areas. Craftsmen, accountants, educators, writers and editors, engineers, and people with other transferable skills are essential.

Move displaced workers into similar jobs rebuilding the infrastructure and building a “green economy.” Infrastructure projects can build and repair roads and bridges and expand public transportation. Overlap them with public and private “green” construction projects that rebuild communities affected by disasters. Retrofit buildings that don’t meet energy efficiency standards. By doubling our current rate of recycling, including waste from these construction projects, we could replace almost every job that has been lost this year. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, and columnist Thomas L. Friedman says “green” projects can employ workers with diverse skills.

Subsidize or give tax credits to organizations that hire displaced workers. Those who move into related positions may even be able to start immediately and train on the job. Workers who have good jobs are less dependent upon government assistance and can afford to stay healthy.

Without changing the policies that created this mess, we will not see the end of the downward spiral or avoid creating another one. My next post will address strategies for making intermediate and long-term changes that address both domestic and foreign policy issues.

The second sentence in the eighth paragraph has been corrected to end with financial services industry instead of businesses. The word occupants has been changed to anyone in the first sentence of the twelfth paragraph.

© 2008 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

There’s a growing consensus among Americans that a plan to address America’s economic woes must top the agenda of our next president. When the national debt surpassed $10 trillion, the National Debt Clock in New York ran out of digits, according to BBC News. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to escape a possible economic meltdown could add $1 trillion to that figure, reports Politico.

With these facts in mind, government officials, business and health leaders, and the public must increase efforts to change our health care system. The economy will not recover without innovative reforms, including additional protections for American workers, the unemployed, the poor, the elderly, and the disabled, and an increase in spending on preventive care.

The facts speak for themselves. The cost of health care has been a major factor in the decline of America’s automobile industry. Mustafa Mohatarem, General Motors Corp.’s chief economist, once told an interviewer that the company spent more on health care for its employees than it spent on steel to manufacture its cars. Those expenditures added approximately $1500 to the cost of each car and made the company unable to compete against challengers from other countries.

Because of these costs, automobile manufacturers and other businesses have reduced or eliminated health care benefits for the majority of their employees and laid off thousands of other workers. Former employees lose access to health care unless their spouses remain employed at jobs that provide coverage. Programs that administer services for the poor, elderly, and disabled also have increased deductibles and co-pays for recipients.

Additional economic challenges are reducing the ability of Americans to replace lost coverage with individual policies or additional funds. Their health suffers without access to adequate care. Costs skyrocket when these same citizens go without care until problems related to their illnesses multiply. If they can’t afford to pay the full cost of services when they finally seek treatment, providers pass their losses on to insured patients, which helps drive up costs.

The majority of these health care dollars are spent on treating chronic illnesses. Nearly one in two Americans, approximately 133 million, has a chronic illness, according to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Johns Hopkins University. Eighty percent of these illnesses are preventable and comprise about 90 percent of health care expenditures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Reesearch studies have connected many chronic illnesses with improper nutrition, lack of exercise, insufficient water intake, inadequate sunshine and fresh air, overeating, abuse of alcohol and drugs, lack of rest, and too much stress. Layoffs meant to save money and increase productivity among remaining workers have led to longer work hours, erratic schedules, and an increase in these disease-causing factors.

The Motley Fool, a multimedia financial services company, has discovered policies that make allowances for the human limitations of its workers increase profit margins. Employees enjoy frequent breaks, flexible schedules, onsite recreation, yoga classes, and unlimited vacation and sick days. Best Buy has developed some of these policies. These Results Only Work Environments (ROWE) have reduced health care costs and increased employee retention.

An increase in spending on preventive care, which should include the services of alternative medicine providers and health educators, could reduce those costs even futher. Prevention is a recognized specialty in the medical profession. It focuses on educating patients about the effects of poor lifestyle choices and detecting the early stages of disease. Alternative providers, through knowlege of how the body’s different systems work together, can often detect disease factors before they appear on medical tests. They also sometimes halt the progress of existing diseases or reverse them even in advanced stages. Health educators communicate the importance of these principles to the general public.

The gravity of this country’s economic situation calls for bold new measures. A plan for addressing our health care woes can free capital for economic expansion and jumpstart our economy.

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Jacqueline L. Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy. The book is available through Lulu.com and will be available early next year through Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

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© 2008 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.