Is our employment-based system of health care taking us back to the dreary days of company towns?

In the "company town" of the 19th century, the company provided your job, your food, your housing, your social networks, and so forth.

Today over half of all Americans depend on their employers for health insurance--not just for the income to pay for insurance (that's true of food, housing, and Wii stations)--but to select policies, which may not be the ones that particular families may actually want.

Last year a report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute and the World Economic Forum laid down a frightening thought that's taking root in business: "Wellness must be inseparable from business objectives and long-term mission."

What does that do for personal freedom? Your personal choices and vices are no longer a matter between you, your god and your family, but you and a distant "benefits manager" who will decide how much overweight is too overweight; how many glasses of wine with dinner are too many; and whether or not you're getting enough exercise.