Meaningful Health-Care Reform Requires Private-Sector Help
As the political debate rages over government-mandated, health-care reform, there is one fundamental fact that all parties agree on: Health-care insurance is a necessity for everyone and there must be a way to make it available in a cost-effective manner without adding to the already huge federal budget deficit. The only solution is to engage the private sector and legislate meaningful tort reform.
The latest data indicates nearly 46 million people in the U.S. have no health-care insurance—about 18% of the population under age 65—and 30% of all insurance premiums go to pay for the cost of assisting those people. When considering what careers to embark upon and what companies to work for, individuals place health-care benefits near the top of the list of requirements. This is a problem for the construction industry in that large numbers of firms offer no benefits and have harsh and dangerous working conditions in the field.