Chinese currency, health care and health care delivery

October 13, 2015
by Philip F. Jacobus, CEO
Three weeks ago, the United Nations General Assembly was in session. Traffic in Manhattan was crazy and restaurants had long lines.

In years gone by, the Waldorf Astoria was a premium spot, but this year many Western diplomats avoided the Waldorf Astoria for fear that the Chinese government had placed listening devices in some of the suites and rooms.

It has occurred to everyone that all over the United States and, for that matter, around the world: Chinese companies are buying more and more.

Just this month, the Chinese renminbi eclipsed the Japanese yen and became the fourth most popular world currency.

This is up from the twelfth most popular currency just three years ago.

All of this is happening even though the Chinese economy is growing at the slowest rate in years.

China has even devalued the renminbi, in part, in an effort to make their products more attractive.

Will this mean that twenty years from now, more and more products will be made more cheaply in China?

Will quality of medical equipment and therefore, the quality of health care, become a race to the bottom?

I wish that our government would do everything it can to encourage innovation and support our inventors and growing companies, rather than force them to go offshore. If it does that, I believe our equipment, our health care and our lives will be the better for it.