Business Needs Universal Healthcare Too
March 28, 2023
Good Morning Healthcare Advocates
More mass shootings yesterday March 27th. The horrible tragedy in Nashville. Gun deaths are the leading cause of death of young children and most mass attacks are done with assault style weapons.
We are back to “You Can’t Tell Me What to Do” causing societal chaos, dysfunction and a lifetime of grief for so many.
Right Now Text SIGN PJQYSM to 50409 to tell your senators in Congress and the president to implement the Assault Weapons Ban. Let them know we are Americans and this is not who we are!
Good News
Remember we were discussing how Pharmacy Benefit Managers rake in kickbacks from drug makers to push their products, charge copays often way more than the cost for drugs without insurance and generally are cheating the public? I do. Here’s a ray of good news.
“Ohio Sues Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Labels Them ‘Modern Gangsters”
Calling them "modern gangsters," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Monday accused pharmacy benefit managers of illegally driving up drug prices for patients who rely on insulin and other key medications.
More Good News
Drug distributor AmeriSourceBergen is refusing to distribute Mifeprex (mifepristone - abortion care medication) in certain states, but is selling it directly to healthcare providers. Curious, but it seems that they can make more money that way. Senator Tammy Duckworth has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Kahn demanding an investigation into this shoddy practice aimed at maximizing profits while creating difficulty for women who need to have an abortion. (Link to story)
ACTION Ask your senator to sign on to this letter Text Sign PAZGKC to 50409 to send this email to your senator.
“ AmerisourceBergen is no longer distributing Mifeprex for abortions in certain states but is selling it to healthcare providers. This seems to be a blatant play to maximize profits. Senator Tammy Duckworth has sent a letter to the FTC Chair Khan to ask her to investigate. I want you to contact Senator Duckworth and sign on to that letter. Women are not to be exploited in this way.”
Current State - Universal Healthcare and Business
Healthcare is big business. In the US we spend about 4 trillion dollars a year on health care. We are the most expensive and do not cover everyone. In fact, by the end of March we will cover fewer as the COVID-19 expansions of Medicaid expire, many will lose insurance.
Since healthcare is higher quality and lower cost in our peer industrialized countries, companies there are more competitive. Berkshire Hathaway VP, Charlie Munger, wants universal healthcare for just that reason, it will make US companies more competitive and likely more profitable. His job is finding profitable companies. Here is a video interview with him.
Providing healthcare became popular when businesses needed to make sure that industrial workers were protected and would come back to work after illness. It is now a fairly common, but very expensive benefit. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2021, employers covered 83% of plans for individuals and 73% of employee family plans.
Again, according to KFF, only about 50% of businesses with less than 200 employees offer healthcare. In the last 5 or so years the prices for such plans have risen by almost 50%. Business needs a stable environment in which to thrive. They can’t keep raising costs and so need to be able to project their expenses out more than 1 year (5 is good). But many small business owners are faced with only one insurance company in their county from which to choose and if you are going to offer the benefit to your employee, you are at their mercy. This is especially the case in many rural areas.
Not long ago I met a pathologist who lives in the midwest. She runs a medical lab and has a handful of employees and she makes sure they have health insurance because it makes her business attractive to high quality technicians. They are covered, but she cannot afford to buy health insurance for herself or her family through her business.
According to Public Citizen and PNHP “Small businesses have rated the cost of health insurance as their top concern for a quarter century, and large businesses struggle with healthcare obligations that their international competitors do not have to worry about,” Taylor Lincoln, author of the report, said. “If it weren’t for entrenched partisan alliances, business leaders would have demanded that Congress relieve them of healthcare burdens long ago.”
The report identified 3 ways business would benefit
Universal Healthcare ends job lock, where people stay put at work only to have healthcare. Employees forced to be at a job only to have insurance does not make for happy, eager employees.
Universal Healthcare would reduce costs to business because no shopping for policies is required nor is administration.
Universal healthcare could reduce healthcare expenditure for businesses and make business more competitive
Take Action
Use RESISTBOT
Text SIGN PYDAUA to 50409 to send the message below to your Congressperson and Senators and President Biden.
We all deserve a healthcare system that works for all of us, that includes businesses. Business helps pay for health insurance for 73% to 83% of employees. For small businesses (under 200 employees) only half can afford to help. Lowering those insurance costs will help everyone, business and employees. Universal Healthcare will do just that.
Representative Jayapal will be introducing her Universal Single Payer Healthcare plan in Mid May and I want you to co-sponsor and support it to help all of us. Businesses and employees, young and old, cradle to grave. You can do this.
Organizations to Contact
NARAL - Pro Choice America https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/
Planned Parenthood https://www.plannedparenthood.org/
Physicians for a National Health Plan https://pnhp.org/
Resources
Contact White House or other federal agencies: usa.gov/federal-agencies
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/change-your-address
Contact all members of Congress
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot