Massachusetts Universal Health Care Plan Attacked by Companies

[shugah]

Massachusetts Universal Health Care Plan Attacked by Companies

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Massachusetts lawmakers are trying to persuade employers to accept a universal health-coverage plan that they say will reduce costs for most firms in the state. Companies still aren't buying.

A proposal passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives would require firms with 10 or more employees to offer health insurance or submit to a payroll tax that would fund workers' care. The law would reduce premiums for companies that already provide health plans by eliminating their contribution to a free-care pool, said House Leader Sal DiMasi, the bill's lead proponent.

~snip~

States are trying to provide medical coverage for more residents without increasing the burden of Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for the poor that consumes about 21 percent of total state budgets. Massachusetts spends about $1.3 billion annually on the program and still about 500,000 residents have no health insurance, DiMasi said.

Companies such as Friendly Ice Cream Corp., based in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, have been slashing health benefits to cut costs. Friendly's, a restaurant chain with at least 14,000 workers, cut the maximum annual outpatient health benefit to $2,000 for some workers.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aK2_SCKrYz6c&refer=top_world_news

[area51]

1. universal healthcare

Companies s/b fighting for universal healthcare b/c it will take the financial burden off them. It's a win-win scenario for workers & companies.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. short sightedness on the part of companies

Those companies who don't like it are mostly those who don't offer health coverage anyway, and don't want to. What they don't realize is that healthy employees are more productive and more likely to stay with a firm, which can be a big deal to a small company of 10 employees.

[mom cat]

3. Friendlies might need a few calls!

[Earth_First]

4. I'm still convinced that universal healthcare will make a rise through...

lobbying from "The Big 3" automakers and the airline industry, they very one's who have been least likely to submit to a universal healthcare system, might very well end up being the one's who bring it to us.

Look at all the reports that list the BILLIONS of dollars that the automotive industry has tied up in just healthcare costs for their employees and retirees. GM might very well stem that $8.9 billion dollar loss last quarter on a single payer system.

But what do I know, I'm just one of the proletariats.

[Evergreen Emerald]

5. everyone of these stories should also include company profits

The cost of health care to the employer always sounds staggering until it is matched against the record profits and mutli-million dollar bonuses of the CCOs.