Politicians all the way up to the White House have pledged that health reform won't cause people to lose their current, employer-based coverage if they like it, Time reports. "Yet the numbers behind that system show that it may be just as unsustainable as — if not more than — the U.S. health-care system as a whole, in which health care costs nationwide are on pace to exceed 20% of our gross domestic product by 2018" (Pickert, 10/26).
Of course, the situation of people who get ever more expensive insurance from their companies may look enviable to some. CBS News reports: Sixty percent of businesses in this country currently provide health benefits for their employees. But only half that number cover part-time workers." Whole Foods is among the rare companies that offers reasonably priced plans to part-timers (Miller, 10/25).
The Kansas City Star examines the working uninsured: "As a statistical group, they are massive and diverse but speak of a singular concern. Medical coverage often stays beyond their reach even with a regular paycheck, leaving them in the same vulnerable place as those with no work or those scratching out the most meager of livings. It is hardly because of a lousy work ethic. Of the approximately 46.3 million uninsured individuals in the United States, 27.8 million are adults with jobs. Full time. Part time. Multiple part time" (Adler, 10/24).