Why Health Care Costs Will Shortly Smother US Economy

Before Your Healthcare Costs Skyrocket (Urgent Information)...
By Karim Rahemtulla, Senior Correspondent

Ten years ago, I sat next to a Republican Congressman from my district at an NBA game.

Healthcare coverage was on my mind at the time, since I had just become an independent contractor - one facing the prospect of buying health insurance outside of a company-sponsored plan. Prices ranged anywhere from $800 to $1,200 per month.

"Your efforts need to be focused on health insurance, since it's the one variable expense most of us can't control," I told the Congressman. "The premium's going to surpass my mortgage payment, and you know it's only going to escalate if things don't change."

My words fell on deaf ears, however. That's when I realized that politicians - both Democrats and Republicans - had no real answers to the crisis confronting the country...

Sadly, not much has changed.

In fact, as the debate over healthcare's future reaches a boiling point, consumers are more nervous than ever.

By virtue of that, my inbox is full of letters asking for my take on the issue. Especially some of the best ways to cope with the coming changes.

Today, I'd like to address those concerns.

While you might hate what you're about to read, there are ways to make the healthcare debacle more manageable - even profitable - when the shift occurs.

Nothing Can Stop Prices From Climbing

Healthcare costs have catapulted from $30 billion in the 1960s to over $2.5 trillion today, or more than 17% of GDP. Data suggests that they will jump to 20% by 2020.

Worse yet, since 2001, healthcare costs have increased by more than 100%, while wages have increased about 34%.

Last year alone, healthcare costs rose by 9%.

(It sounds like a Stephen King horror, right?)

If you're a businessperson, it's likely scaring the hell out of you.

If you're a soon-to-be retiree, healthcare costs are making you choose between a great retirement and a mediocre one.

For those of you who are presently under a company insurance plan, well... your costs are going higher.

Perhaps the worst news, though, is this...

Neither party is working on a way to reduce costs. (The government can't control healthcare costs anyway.)

When you widen the lens, the problem is merely a supply and demand issue - one where the demand side of the equation falls squarely on us.