Industries Hurt Most By Health Care Costs

usnews.com:

A new study shows that some industries have become chronically hamstrung by rising healthcare costs, with lower growth and employment than they'd have if costs were lower--or somebody else paid them. Researchers Neeraj Sood, Arkadipta Ghosh, and José J. Escarce of the Rand Corp. analyzed the performance of 38 industries from 1987 to 2005 and found that sectors where a high proportion of workers have company-provided health insurance--such as manufacturing, utilities, communications, education, and finance--showed the lowest growth over the 19-year period. Industries where fewer workers get company-paid health insurance--such as agriculture, hotels, entertainment, retail, and construction--grew more.

Read the whole story: usnews.com

Comments

[BBackSoon]

We had a major presentation from our CEO about a month ago, everyone was nervous since we never have presentations from the CEO but it turned out it was first about the health of the company and how tight things were but we are still solvent and then it was a bunch of Right Wing scare talk. How the government was going to tax our employer provided health insurance, or should I say the portion that our company pays among other things. Not wanting to rock the boat no one asked the painfully obvious question, myself included, ‘What are your thoughts on Single Payer Health Insurance or some kind of a Government run plan.’

To my way of thinking and I am not an executive but wouldn’t it actually help the bottom line if our company and so many others could relieve themselves of the burden of spending so much money on employee health insurance? But then again they have, we have moved all but the largest of our production facilities to Mexico and lately China. That’s one way around the issue.

[rblaquinta]

repugs only agenda is to destroy this country. Keep everyone dumbdown.

[bluepuppy]

The Demmings have a majority in both houses...why not pass what Obama wants and quit whining !!

[emily00011]

America is apparently too poor to afford health care for its citizens unlike other countries.

[yappnmutt]

so then why aren't these companies standing in front of the insurance companies for the sake of their bottom line?

the healthcare expense for the usa sucks the life out of the economy, pun intended.

[nationalhealth]

Olbermann is taking Obama to task for his bipartisan approach that is not working. Obama says he'll reevaluate middle of September.

Wake me up when September ends.

[nationalhealth]

Forward this article to your undecided GOP friends. At least in Canada and other countries, industries don't have to deal with exorbitant health care costs...we could be become more competitive. Wages could go up. Tell them!

[traumabob]

I never been able to understand why the GOP, the best friend of Industry, is never willing to do the one thing that would help American industry compete more than anything else in the Global Market .

That would be relieving them of the burden of paying for Health Insurance for their employees. They seem to have no qualms about using taxpayer money every other way possible to benefit private enterprise. Odd, isn't it?

[PhilipTaylor]

Why should your ability to stay alive depend on

1. Full employment?

2. Your ability to pay an INSURANCE GREED MACHINES?

HOW ABSURD!

18,000 D1E each year and Million+ Bankruptcies!

This is N0T C1V1L1ZED! No other Industrialized Country does this!

[Konnie]

and yet they can not see the forest for the trees.....­.........t­he won't support national insurance/ single payer option thereby getting out of the health insurance business and removing that albatros from
their bottom line. go figure!?

in fact, all they have to do is plead poor mouth, drop insurance as an employee benefit.........and the
country would go bananas and we would have a public option at the very least the next day!

[judiNJ]

Yup. Correct. My company, an education company, closed all its US sites and moved everything to India due to health care costs. Bang.... 500 Americans out of work. I hope all those mobs ranting about health care reform are ready to be out of work.

[Progress08]

If we relieve the burden to the manufacturers for providing healthcare through a corporate plan we can reduce their costs and make it easier for Americans to compete globally. More trade, more jobs, happier healthier workers.

I don't understand why GM and Ford and every American manufacturer isn't telling these chicken$hit senators and congressmen that they'll pull all funding and campaign donations from them if they don't get behind the president.

[cavegal]

Agreed. I find it absolutely incredible that people against national healthcare do not understand how difficult it is for employers to continue paying rising healthcare costs. We are decimating our own capitalist system by encouraging a health for profit industry. Employers have repeatedly stated that rising healthcare costs are one of the top reasons for off-shoring American jobs. It just makes more sense to operate where healthcare costs for everyone is already covered.

[mellene]

Just wait 'til more and more employers cut the portion of health care costs that they pick up. They'll be a flood of people wishing that they would have been more proactive to change health care insurance. The companies are just waiting until the bill gets defeated to do so because they're frightened that Americans will be less complacent.

[GeoLee]

that may be the thing that has to happen in order for people to realize as for many folks to realize what their insurance is costing someone. The do not think of what they see on their pay stub as affecting them or for that matter their employer and only begin to when they are having to cough up part of the cost or all of the cost. As long as it is labelled a benefit and not salary, it seems foreign to most folks.

[swisskabab]

"Industries being hurt" .... puhleeze ...

Why not talk about "People being hurt by ..." first and then we can talk about "Industries being hurt"

[judiNJ]

Uh, 500 people losing our jobs? Yeah, that hurt!

[wilsonveteran]

You all are just clueless when it comes to how our economy works. This new health care will be good for big business because they will get out of the health care business and give it to the government. It will be bad for small business because lots of them do not offer health care and now they will have to pay a higher tax. The government cannot run Medicare, Medicade, or Social security efficently and yet you want to give government another 7% of the economy to run. Do you actually believe the government can run this efficiently. History shows us it can't. This plan will lead to Single Payer. Which is not in our best interest.
You complain about big business and their profits but have no idea where these profits go. Some of it goes to expand and hire more people. Some of it goes to pay off debt accumulated. The rest goes to the share holders mostly dividends paid to perferred stock holders. Also with good profits the stocks go up in value. These stocks are held by 401K and IRA's. Basically your retirement. So when you are against profits you are against more jobs and your retirement accounts.

[ErnestineBass]

If Rethugs like you are sooooooo convinced the government can't do anything right, soccerball, then WHY do so many of you run for office?

[mphalen]

Exactly. I like how all those repug congress people are always saying that the government can't do anything right, but they seem to forget that they are the government and when they say that they are essentially saying that they can't do anything right.

It has been documented that when the repugs are in charge, the government doesn't run as well as when the Democrats are in charge. Go figure.

[mikekopac]

I assume that this means that the those that decide the investments of 401(k) money should use it to build China's society and not ours. After all, isn't that where the best "profits" are. Never mind that they are based on slave labor.
How many Americans are burning through their 401(k)s now because they lost their jobs. Now the goverment pays for his consequence of your idea through more unemployment insurance and other goverment benefits (food stamps etc) Now hundreds of thousands of unemployed worker's famlies will split up, under the pressure caused by your logic. Do these costs to me as a taxpayer outweigh my 401(k) gains?

Do you agree with this? If not, show me where my logic is flawed. Also where is your sense of patriotism. Being patriotic doesn't just mean fighting on the battefield, although that is it's highest form. It also means having concern for your fellow citizens, and, in so doing, showing love for your country....because after all, aren't the citiznens the Country. God bless all Americans, especially those in need. God bless the USA>

[bluevase]

Actually, the government runs Medicare, Medicade, and Social Security very efficiently -- much more efficiently than the for-profit sector.
Profits of businesses are HURT by the rising costs of health care premiums. We are the only nation on earth that expects employers to pay for health care. This hurts us in the global marketplace -- and is a prime reason for the continued off-shoring of manufacturing. Take out the health care costs, and profits will RISE.

[vippy]

50 years later, behind all other industrialized nations, USA finally works on healthcare coverage for all.
Only the people have been so brainwashed they think the government is taking over their lives.
They are absolutely wrong about this. 48 million and so many going broke in this economy it seems a country that does not care about its inhabitants needs no defending. I believe a soldier should be proud of his/her country and have a reason to fight for it.