Businesses Embracing Government Entitlement Programs

There was a time when you could count on businesses to unwaveringly oppose Big Government. However, companies are beginning to support government entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, that take on some of the burden of our country's escalating health care costs. For example, Medicare Part D helps many businesses by reducing the number of retirees that rely on these businesses to continue to pay for their prescription drug needs. This article describes attitude shift as a form of "outsourcing", where companies "outsource" their health care costs to the federal government.

Do you think that business should play more of a role in providing health care coverage? The legislature in Maryland sure does - they recently passed the infamous Wal-Mart bill that requires large employers in their state to devote a certain percentage of their payroll to the cost of health care coverage. But maybe health care shouldn't be so closely linked to jobs. Many people lose their health coverage when they lose their job, and the result can be devastating. What do you think?