Healthcare

National Trends #1 and #2

State after state is studying the impact and costs of large profitable employers that do not provide affordable, accessible health coverage to their employees.  Repeatedly, states are finding large profitable companies like Walmart and other retail and fast food giants that pay such low wages their employee’s have to access public health care assistance costing the state’s taxpayers millions of dollars annually.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are CT’s small employers. Ninety five percent of CT’s small employers have fewer than 50 employees[1] and approximately 7.2% are owned by Hispanic residents of the state – down from 12.1% in 1997[2].  They are increasingly unable to keep up with the rising costs of health care and are put at a competitive disadvantage by large employers unwilling to pay their fair share.  Over half of CT’s uninsured workers work in small firms with fewer than 50 employees. In contrast, about 7% of uninsured workers work in large firms[3]. The majority of small firms do not offer coverage because it is too expensive[4], yet these “mom and pop” shops continue to try and do the right thing by their employees, many of whom are family and friends, despite the negative impact on their profits.

In CT, thanks to the research and advocacy efforts of CEO and its members, it was found that over 10,000 employees of Walmart, Stop & Shop, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonalds and Laidlaw were on HUSKY costing the state $20 million dollars in one year.  In California, it was found that Walmart workers alone on public health care assistance cost that state’s taxpayers $32 million dollars annually.  In Georgia, similar findings identified 10,000 Walmart workers’ children on public health care assistance costing $6.6 million dollars.  In Arkansas, Walmart’s home state, 4,000 employees receive public assistance to the tune of $39 million in taxpayer costs for Medicaid. Other states where this phenomenon has been unveiled include Tennessee, Ohio, and Florida.[5] 

According to a 2003 report by the AFL CIO on the “poster child” for abysmal corporate behavior Walmart, it is not the workers alone who pay the price for the company’s dismal health coverage track record.  “Costs are passed on to other employers in the form of higher premiums they must pay in order to compensate for skimping by Walmart and other large employers that shortchange their employees’ health care coverage”.[6]