[campbellcj]

Honestly I don't think health care costs are rising all that quickly.

DRUG and INSURANCE costs are rising at astronomical rates, however. This month I was forced to cut back on the health coverage our company offers for our handful of employees, which was really a painful thing to do. Our medical insurance now costs more than our office rent and is our 2nd largest expense line item, after salaries/wages!

Meanwhile most of the physicians I know have been working their tails off to make ends meet and have seen little or no income gains in several years.

Even the "non-profit" (cough cough) insurers like Blue Cross/Blue Shield are currently sitting on $BILLIONS in "reserves" (can't call 'em profits, remember, cuz that would invite the tax man to the party), which are being fueled by the 15-20% annual premium hikes.

I don't have the answers by any means, but I'm really sick of this crap as a small businessperson, and my wife is so disgusted she plans to abandon her job (pediatrics) for a different field in Aug/Sept.