Seven reasons single-payer health care will be great for Vermont business

[cali]

The author of this op is the CEO of Danforth Pewter.
2:49 PM, Sep. 14, 2011 |

One: Quality. Our health care system doesn’t produce very good health. Of the world’s 33 developed countries, the United States ranks near the bottom in health indicators like infant death, death that could have been prevented by proper health care, and life expectancy. From North America to Europe to the Middle East to Asia, people in countries with single-payer systems are consistently healthier than Americans.


Healthy workers do better work at lower cost than unhealthy workers. A single-payer system will provide Vermont companies with healthier workers.

Two: Hard costs. Judging by other single-payer systems around the world, going to single-payer should cut our health care costs roughly in half.

The report to the Vermont legislature recommended paying for single-payer with an 11 percent payroll tax. The legislature does not seem enthusiastic about this, and I expect we will end up with a combination of smaller taxes on payroll, income, and/or sales. However, even if we fund the system entirely with an 11 percent payroll tax, our small Vermont company would still have lower costs than under the current system; over the last five years, Danforth Pewter’s health care costs have averaged over 15 percent of payroll.

Three: Soft costs. How much time do you personally waste dealing with your health insurance every year? Multiply that across every employee in Vermont. Add the time everyone spends at benefits meetings trying to figure out the latest changes to their insurance. Add the additional time that the HR people at every Vermont company waste on health insurance administration every year.

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http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110915/BUSINESS08/110914020/Seven-reasons-single-payer-health-care-will-great-Vermont-business

[OneGrassRoot]

1. Perfect. I'm sharing this. K&R n/t

[cali]

2. It is a particularly well written explanation

We're lucky that quite a number of VT businesses are on board.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. Another point. The employer is no longer paying into the insurance..

of it's employees and may be able pass that savings to the employees.

[Thav]

7. A better characterization of this is

employers would know their costs for insurance. Let's say this was enacted and the employer had to kick in 5.5% of the employee's salary as a part of the insurance. Then the employer would know exactly how much it'd cost to hire them.

Many employers are hesitant to hire due to uncertainty about insurance costs. Single payer system would remove that uncertainty.

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. Number 6 is critical. I wouldn't have been able to start my business...

if my wife's employer didn't provide us with health insurance. It's a simple as that and with so many older workers losing their jobs with little prospect of being hired again the option of working for yourself will be a lifesaver.

[rurallib]

5. Will use this as a basis for a blog post etc.

passing on to friends immediately

[cali]

6. glad it's helpful to you.