We all know that the employment picture in the U.S. continues to be dark. One in 10 Americans who wanted a job last month were unemployed. What many do not know is that private sector employment growth fell short of the number of new people entering the labor force by more than 500,00 jobs each year throughout the 1990s! The bottom line: Economists say the U.S. job creation engine has been stalled for the better part of a decade.  New enterprises are not coming on line. As older industries die, established industry and entrepreneurs are not entering the market place and using capital to create jobs.

 So where will jobs come from? Health care is an obvious choice. It’s time for a public policy to support this growth industry with a Jobs Bill for Health Care (similar to the post World War II GI bill). The bill would provide funds to train all comers – from the returning war vets to the unemployed, from the dying manufacturing industries to the recent high school graduates. This will produce not only the health workforce that the U.S. so desperately needs in the near and long term but also create a “product” that can be exported overseas – trainers for other countries’ healthcare challenges.

 In addition to direct investment, the government should ensure funding from the insurance industry and providers who do not now train health professionals but depend on the health workforce . Let’s ensure the health and economic future of the United States with a public-private partnership that makes sense.