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Group health insurance used to be the best bet in town when it came to insuring the American workforce. But now, as jobs overseas pay their employees more and yet save costs on medical insurance, making sense of insurance has become very difficult for employers and employees alike.

We've already heard that Americans pay more for their health care than any other industrial nation, and we also know that we rank among the lowest when it comes to minimizing preventable deaths. But now, it seems that these same issues are leading workers and businesses alike to go abroad for lower costs on everything from production costs to group health insurance.

This week's article at CQ Politics reports that "the ever-rising costs of health care puts American businesses at a disadvantage when trying to compete with firms overseas."

The study released by the New America Foundation found that U.S. firms spent twice as much on health care in 2005 as their competitors, a particularly dangerous problem when up to 60% of all insured Americans are covered by the group health insurance policy offered by their employer.

And employees aren't getting off lightly either; the average worker contribution for family health insurance has increased by 102% since 2000. The effect for both employers and employees alike is that it's much more affordable to take your business overseas.

One of the co-authors of the study suggests the legislation of Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), whose bill (s 334) would require employers to "cash out" of group health insurance and convert health care contributions into raises workers could use to purchase medical insurance.

Unfortunately, Wyden's bill has yet to see any real action.