Healthcare

The Beliefs that Drive CEO’s Health Care Agenda:

• Universal access to healthcare cannot be achieved without addressing and involving the employment based system of health coverage;
  
• The labor movement is unique in its commitment to social justice and health care and should be leaders in the fight for universal healthcare;
  
• Underinsured workers impacted by irresponsible corporate behavior must have a voice in the efforts to effect real health care reform;
  
• The insurance industry plays a large role in the current health care crisis and should be held accountable to its consumers and engaged in the universal healthcare debate.

CEO Hits the Ground Running

In 2004/05, with the support of a grant from the Universal Health Care Foundation, CEO has become a leader in CT’s growing universal health care movement by advocating strongly for the expansion of employer based health coverage.  CEO has reached out to national leaders regarding efforts around the country to expand such coverage as part of its over-arching mission to hold corporations responsible for the well-being of their employees and communities. The need to hold corporations accountable to their employees in the form of affordable, accessible health care coverage is at the forefront for CEO and its members.  To that end, CEO lead the efforts to pass SB 1147 The Employee Health Security Act.

Fair Share Health Care (aka “Pay or Play”)

For a comprehensive analysis of “pay or play” initiatives throughout the country, click here

Due to the aforementioned national trends, there is growing momentum to expand and enhance employer based health coverage.  California is at the forefront of these efforts with a so called “pay or play” bill that was signed into law in 2004 and very narrowly defeated in a ballot referendum in November of that same year.  The defeat was the narrowest of all the referenda on the ballot and is largely due to the $18.5 million dollars raised by large retail and fast food companies like Walmart and McDonalds.  (for more click here)

Click here for articles of interest on Employer Coverage Expansion/Pay or Play efforts around the country.

Connecticut’s SB 1147 The Employee Health Security Act

SB 1147 was designed to:

• Level the playing field for employers who provide health care but must compete with those that do not.

• Expand access to affordable health coverage for an low and moderate wage workers.

• Ensure that large corporations are contributing their fair share to the health security of their employees.

• To recover money from large employers that are insuring their employers at taxpayer expense through HUSKY A.

The bill took many turns throughout the legislative process ending up on the Senate calendar after passage through the Labor, Finance and Human Services Committee.  Despite enormous opposition from the business lobby, the State Senate was prepared to vote on the bill but unforeseen issues arose that kept it from being voted on by the end of the session.

CEO and its members are far from discouraged as the bill went further then ever before, became the topic du jour in many legislative circles, was touted as the most “damaging” anti-business piece of legislation before the legislature according to the CT Business and Industry Association, and raised the issue of employer based coverage and corporate responsibility to new heights.

Employer Based Health Coverage: Today

Health coverage for CT’s working families is being whittled away every day.  Approximately 356,000 Connecticut residents are without health insurance. Black and Hispanic residents are 10% and 12% respectively more likely to be uninsured than the state’s White residents (approximately 10% uninsured).[1]  In fact, in 1997 13% of the state’s Hispanic residents were uninsured compared to 23% in 2000.[2]

For more click here.

Click here for more information on Employer Based Health Insurance: A Historical Perspective.

National Trends that Inform CEO’s Health Care Agenda:

1.     The unprecedented momentum to hold large profitable corporations responsible for paying their fair share of health care costs for their employees;

2.     Information being uncovered across the country about indirect ways in which state taxpayers are subsidizing these and other large companies; (click here for more on 1 and 2)

3.     Health care benefits becoming the number one challenge labor unions face at the bargaining table – struggling to simply protect existing benefits for union members, let along improve them. Little or no health benefits are also a growing reason why workers choose to organize a union in the first place, often surpassing issues of pay. (click here for more)

4.   The increasing number of overlooked and under-insured workers in large companies. (click here for more)