It has been more than forty years since the United States made the decision to insure everyone with end stage renal disese (dead kidneys) who needed dialysis.

I noticed we did not go out of business. This past month I had an unfortunate gentleman with dying kidneys, through no fault of his own. who was admitted to hospital and was found to need dialysis. By itself, this a pretty mundane, routine everyday occurance. What was special here, is that the man:

1. Could not be discharged because he needed dialysis but had no insurance. So, he needed to stay until this was resolved.

2. He worked full time

3. He is an amulance driver

So, that is the 'hook' in this particular story. A full time, employed guy actually in healthcare, in a company too small to afford insurance for all employees. How, after all, do you say to a company with 20 employees "Hey, you have to fork out $75,000 to $100,000 a year for all your employees for healthcare and STILL stay open.

Starbucks spends more money on healthcare than it does on coffee, did you know?