providers in the United States, cut a
recent deal with the United Auto
Workers (UAW) that would force
hourly retirees to start paying
monthly contributions, annual
deductibles and co-pays for insurance costs, accumulating to $370 a
year. GM believes these recent
changes will help it save $15 billion
in long-term medical liabilities. In
addition, GM sold its majority stake
in General Motors Acceptance
Corp., its financing subsidiary, for
$14 billion to help compensate for
rising healthcare costs.
Gone are the days when employers cushioned all of the employee’s
medical costs or provided healthcare
at a minimal surcharge. Rising costs
have become such an epidemic that a
company easily could move into the
red if that was its modus operandi.
The current rates of job growth
and wages are unable to keep up
with the rising costs in healthcare.
Former Oregon Gov. John
baby-boom generation retires, they
will represent more than $65 trillion
in unfunded entitlements, led by
Social Security. The costs of
Medicaid have a profound impact
on the economy. In most state
budgets, the cost of Medicaid exceeds the cost of primary and secondary education, according to
Kitzhaber.
Betancourt believes the impact
healthcare disparities can have on the
bottom line will compel companies
to take notice. “If you’re a large company like Ford … you’re paying a lot
more insurance costs because of the
system not being responsive to their
issues and you’re losing people to
premature disability and premature
death,” he says. “As large employers,
it’s incumbent to understand how
this affects the bottom line.”
The Uphill Battle
It’s easier for those who have access
to healthcare and have a higher SES
Annual Per Capita Expense
$3,000
Per Capita Healthcare Expenses
by Race/Education
2,000
1,000
$4,000
0 White Black Latino
3,000
NO TES: Asian/PI refers to Asians and Pacific 2,000
Islanders. Latino includes Latinos of any race. Some
data is not available for Native American or Asian
populations. Sources: Health Chartbook 2005, U.S. 1,000
Department of Health and Human Service, 2003
National Healthcare Disparities Report, Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality 0
At least some college
HS graduate
Less than HS graduate
White Black Asian/PI Latino
Kitzhaber’s Foundation for Medical
Excellence found that the inability
to pay a medical bill currently is the
second leading cause of personal
bankruptcy in America. It also is
becoming a huge driver behind the
country’s national debt. When the
to push this issue aside as “that”
person’s problem. The United States
spends 53 percent more per capita
on healthcare than the next-highest-spending country (Switzerland),
according to the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), so health-care costs are an issue for everyone,
regardless of income or class. Inadequate care received today will
cost more in the future as it leads
to other chronic illnesses and a
depletion of the potential work
force. Plus more people on the dole,
in effect, bankrupts the national
healthcare system.
Healthcare experts such as Anne
C. Beal, senior program officer of
The Commonwealth Fund, believe
healthcare should be available for
all, regardless of class. “Universal
participation of employer-based
coverage” would be a significant
step in addressing affordability and
accessibility of healthcare, she
argues, pointing out that the employers who fail to provide coverage
for their employees “are not paying
into the system.”
In April, Massachusetts approved
a precedent-setting bill that will
offer universal healthcare coverage,
which will affect more than 90 percent of its uninsured population. By
requiring businesses that do not
offer health insurance to pay penalties, combined with increased state
spending, insurance subsidies, tax
incentives as well as expanded
government-insurance programs,
this bill could be a national model.
This innovative stance by
Massachusetts gives traction to
what Rep. Honda believes is an
American right—to have insurance
and quality healthcare. “Americans
should be outraged at the number
of uninsured. Healthcare should
be a right and not based simply
on one’s ability or luck to get a job
that provides health insurance,”
says Honda.
The Massachusetts action was
a business response to the $385
million in Medicaid funding the
state would have lost if it didn’t
show progress to cover more of its
