The Economic Impact on Healthcare
The Economic Impact on Healthcare
This country is in the midst of a terrible economic crisis that was precipitated by the housing crisis but unfortunately the ramifications of that particular crisis have been anything but isolated. As people foreclosed on their homes the banking system collapsed and lending tightened up. As lending tightened up getting loans for things other than houses dried up. People who once relied on their home equity lines to fund purchases had to rely on credit cards and so defaults have started spreading to these credit accounts. Ultimately all this had led to broad job losses brought about by layoffs resulting from companies having a tough time getting the funding needed to expand. One of the big casualties of this has been the health system. As people lose their jobs they are increasingly showing up ill without health insurance. This is a serious issue as the cost of treating someone who has a critical illness is tremendous. Without insurance both the hospital and government have to absorb part of the costs. Thus even though you would think the medical sector should be fairly isolated from the housing sector that turns out to be far from the truth. We live in an interconnected society where decline in any one area can destabilize the rest of the system.
Tags: health insurance