Monday, May 11, 2009

Maybe there are more of us...

Than I thought.  The idea of a different health care system is not all that unpalatable to many CEO's.

Plenty of CEOs continue to support the status quo, of course, despite the drawbacks. "A lot of businesses take the approach that 'this is a lousy system, but we're good at it,' " says Joseph J. Minarik, research director for the Committee for Economic Development, a Washington think tank. "I interpret this as, 'I've got the best stateroom on the Titanic, and I'm not moving.' "
Democratic senators are calling for a new, federally funded insurer that would expand coverage by competing with private health insurers. Although insurance companies hate the idea, opposition from other businesses has been muted, even though this "public option" is characterized by Republican lawmakers as the first step toward a government-run system. "CEOs are focused on the bottom line," says Len Nichols, director of health policy at the New America Foundation, another think tank. "They know high health-care costs put U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage."
James Hagedorn, CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), describes himself as a conservative. Nevertheless, he sees much to like in the national health systems of Europe. "If someone said to me, 'you can pay the same amount [for health care] and we will redeploy to a national system,' I'm fine," he says. "Why would I argue with that?" [More]

This attitude could gain even more momentum as health insurance premiums zoom upwardsHave you gotten your bill this year? 

Ours was up 18%.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The idiots in Washington fail to recognize or care, that Helath insurance premiums are now about 1/3 of a working persons income and rising fast. Do the math. A family plan with 5000 deductable with the Health Savings Contribution for a family of 4 is now over $10,000 per year!I guess 10 g is just pocket change inside the beltway, but to working people, the next 18% increases will come close to 1/2 their income!