The Great Healthcare Debate

Somewhere in the discussion on healthcare, I wish someone would reference the affect of rising healthcare costs on employers and their ability to continue employing people. Does one not have the feeling that the wage stagnation of the past decade has something to do (at least in part) with employers absorbing the increasing cost of health insurance?

The REAL frame for the healthcare debate isn't whether or not basic healthcare is a universal human right, nor is it about whether healthcare reform is the equivalent of socialism. The debate should be about what will work best for the general economy in a globally competitive (and decidedly unlevel) labor market. This is uncharted territory... and we will either adapt or die.

It's no secret that US employers are suffering under the weight of health insurance. Large global employers like mine are shunning US workers for cheaper, no-frills (i.e. no benefits) resources in emerging countries, while smaller businesses are simply getting crushed by the cost of employment.

What I want to see is a conversation that discusses what shifting the cost of healthcare coverage from private to public administration does for (or against) the national economy.