By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Countless workers in the United States are trapped in jobs they would like to leave because they cannot get health insurance elsewhere, calcifying innovation and mobility in the world’s largest economy.

Daunted by health-care costs, a would-be technology entrepreneur in Texas decides not to start her own business. A communications expert in Washington decides not to strike out on his own. And a freelance magazine editor in Brooklyn decides to take a less satisfying corporate job.

“I would rather be freelancing, no question,” said Jessica Tolliver, a former editor who now works in public relations. “I got my work done in less time, because once I finished what I had to do, the time was my own.”

Economists call this phenomenon “job lock,” and studies suggest that it keeps between 20 percent and 50 percent of workers from leaving their current jobs.

Because health insurance is tied to employment in the United States, workers who leave their jobs can see health bills skyrocket if they strike out on their own or take a position with a company that offers fewer benefits. Workers who would like to retire early stay on, unable to qualify for the government’s Medicare program until they turn 65.

And those who have existing health problems may not be able to get coverage at all.

Job lock is difficult to measure because many employees don’t like to advertise their unhappiness. But economists and small-business advocates say it takes an enormous toll on productivity.

SLOWING INNOVATION

“We can definitely say that it’s slowing down the rate of innovation,” said Tim Kane, an economist with the Kauffman Foundation which promoted entrepreneurship.

For Mike, a Washington-based communications professional who did not want to use his last name, health costs may force him to pass up the chance to be his own boss at a time when he could easily pick up several major clients.

With two children at home, Mike said he was reluctant to abandon the generous benefits he gets at the trade group where he currently works. Self-employment would probably mean spending more for fewer benefits.

“I don’t want a bad event to knock me and my family out of the box,” he said. “It’s a real hurdle.”

As head of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Todd Stottlemeyer frequently encountered would-be entrepreneurs who let their ideas go stale and their products languish on the workbench because they did not want to shoulder their own health care costs.

When he asked audiences if health insurance has affected their employment decisions, often half the hands in the room would go up.

“There are lots of factors that go into why somebody starts a business or doesn’t start a business: Do I have a good idea, do I have capital, do I have risk tolerance?,” said Stottlemeyer, now an executive at a hospital chain. “Being able to get health insurance … should not be one of those determinant factors.”  Continued…

Legal and court professionals throughout the country have relied on Bates Stamping to help keep track of legal documents in cases for more than 100 years. Ever since the original Bates automatic numbering machine was patented in 1891, some form of Bates numbering has been used.

Even today, Bates stamping allows attorneys and court officials to clearly refer to specific points of reference within legal documents including medical records during record review and presentation.

MediConnect Global provides customizable Bates Stamping with its medical record retrieval services that is very easy to setup and automatically applied to your downloadable medical record PDF files.

When you login to your MediConnect account, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click preferences. Scroll down to Customizable Bates/Page Stamping Preferences.

Here you have as many as 11 choices you can make on how your Bates stamp will appear and in what location on the page. A small “example” window allows you to preview how the stamp will appear on your pages.

Once you’ve selected your choices, click on submit and continue to place your medical record retrieval order. Remember to select Bates Stamping.

That’s it! When you download your medical record in PDF format, the page stamping is automatically applied to the medical record.

If you don’t like how your Bate stamp appears you can make an online change and re-download the PDF with a newly formatted stamp.

We’re interested in knowing how you utilize Bate stamping in your firm. If you would like to share your thoughts, go to the comment section and drop us a line or two.