Health Care

#543 - Personal and Portable Health Insurance

One of the peculiarities of the U.S. health care system is that the health plan most of us have is not a plan that we chose; rather, it was selected by our employer. Even if we like our health plan, we could easily lose coverage because of the loss of a job, a change in employment or a decision by our employer. These problems affect all Americans, but have the greatest impact on older workers, who are more likely to have health problems.

President Bush has proposed making health insurance individually-owned, personal and portable, traveling with employees from job to job. It is an idea whose time has come.