If America's current health care system was measured on the same basis as we measure clothing, the tag would read: "one-size-fits-all." Regardless of an individual's ability to pay, costs remain the same. Outrageous medical costs have lead many families to take radical measures to care for loved ones. Take for instance, an Illinois mother who was forced to sell her car before a public hospital would treat her daughter for a heart condition. Or a loving wife who divorced her husband so public funds would pay for his health care. The time to act is now. Drastic measures must be taken in the areas of malpractice and insurance in order to correct problems within the medical system, and the federal government should be behind these measures.

Doctors, nurses, and medical assistants labor long, hard hours to meet the growing needs of the population. In the past, medical workers dealt only with patients lives whereas today their concerns focus not only on patients lives but insurance companies, the federal government, hospital policies, and malpractice suits. The ever present fears have lead to the performance of needless procedures that amounted to $21 billion in 1991. Of these procedures, experts admit, up to one-third may deem harmful to patients lives. As technology has advanced, so has our hope that we'll live forever. Because of medical success we no longer view medical workers as humans but rather gods. These feelings are best stated by a Boston surgical resident: "One thing medical training does is smash your ideals and take away your niceness as a person. The hours that you work, the years of deprivation, being treated like a piece of dirt by everyone, being put under all the stress and pressure, and nobody cares, and nobody thinks of you as a human being."

When a loved one dies emotions tend to run high and some families find comfort in blaming medical workers through malpractice suits. There is a solution to this problem, however. In 1975 California placed a limit on money awarded to malpractice suits and today it has the lowest number in the nation. The federal government should demand that juries stop pursuing cases to the utmost limits and all states should be required to place a limit on money awards. Many Americans don't realize the actual costs involved in a medical stay. Each time a patient is taken into surgery or stays overnight items are used and charged to the patient's account. The government should order that where possible, items should be thoroughly cleaned and reused. If hospital waste were eliminated it would not only save lives but up to $200 billion a year. This waste prompts increases in insurance costs. Therefore many Americans drop insurance. Bills of the uninsured are eventually paid by the insured through higher medical costs. To correct this problem, a universal health care plan must be established covering basic treatment for all Americans. Major treatments for the uninsured would be paid by creating a medical tax which would not increase medical costs for the insured. Commitment from the federal government is important but only if health care providers and insurance agencies keep costs under control can this goal be achieved.

Medical costs have a direct affect on corporations as well as individual families. Employees' medical needs are beginning to paralyze many businesses. In order to provide medical benefits, companies spend $91 billion each year for more than 180 million workers and family members. This figure has risen from $25.5 billion a decade ago.

Small companies have been hardest hit by increased employee insurance costs. Many have abandoned health benefits as costs have risen. Over two-thirds of the 35 million Americans who don't have health insurance are working people. To combat high medical costs, some companies have begun to seek low cost high quality medical care for their employees. Many corporations hire budget experts to oversee and help employees receive cheaper medical care and offer cash rebates to employees who submit low medical b ills. One such company is General Motors. Together with their Auto Union, they developed a program where workers are required to seek a second opinion before major surgery. According to the California Health Research Institute, some 35 percent of major U.S. corporations are trying to negotiate similar agreements with their unions. Norton Co., a small industrial firm, was faced in 1983 with health care costs that posed a threat to their net profit. Through negotiations, a new, low-cost medical plan was established with local hospitals and insurance companies. The results were great. Health care costs between 1983 and 1985 rose 25 percent nationally while Norton's costs grew by only 3.2 percent. Norton's president, Donald Melville, said that health care providers have gotten the message "that they had better be cost competitive."

Nearly two-thirds of major companies are using a program called: "Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)" which is a form of prepaid health insurance that guarantees medical treatment for a fixed charge.

The federal government should suggest that companies, large and small, make an effort to find low-cost insurance for employees. If possible, the government should offer tax breaks to companies who develop such programs in the near future. There isn't one perfect solution to the present health care mess the United States is facing, but with incentives, companies should work to make the situation more manageable.

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