Healthcare

America's Health Care Crisis

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General Motors: Leading the Way with Healthcare Post World War II America consisted of employer health care coverage as the norm. Companies such as General Motors led the way in taking care of its own with employee healthcare, retiree healthcare, and pensions. GM used to be the largest employer in America and they set the baseline for healthcare coverage.

Walmart: The New Leader Walmart is now easily the country's largest employer and now responsible for setting the example in healthcare coverage. Looking at the numbers compared to GM, Walmart has taken the opposite stance by cutting costs with healthcare where ever possible.

Key points of comparison:

-For each car that GM produces, $1500 is spent on health care for its employees.

-Average wages for GM when it was the largest employer were 41% higher than Walmart's current average wages

-GM fully covered almost all of its employees

Walmart Sets the New Standard

Quick Facts about Walmart's Healthcare Coverage:

-Walmart's spending on healthcare is 40% less than the average for all US corporations.

-Only 60% of those eligible for coverage signed up.

-New hourly workers must wait six months before signing up for coverage.

-Deductibles can be as high as $1000, which is triple the national average.

These statitistics would suggest that Walmart pushes its employees to remain uninsured. Many of the employees do choose this option, as it is the only affordable one. Either option leaves almost all employees with little to no coverage at all, and either way, Walmart is saving money.

Walmart Influences the Rest of the Industry

With so much power in the retail industry, Walmart is constantly being benchmarked by competitors. Every decision it makes regarding healthcare is noted by the rest of the industry. In most cases, this results in other companies mimicking the same policies as Walmart --- cut costs by cutting healthcare.

Implications on Taxpayers and the Future of Heathcare

In 2005, 775,000 Walmart employees were left without healthcare. These people are forced to turn to the government for aid in health costs through Medicare and Medicaid, which are funded by the taxpayers. In 2005, it is estimated that healthcare to over 300,000 Walmart employees cost the government $1.37 billion. In the next five years it is estimated that costs will increase to $9.1 billion.

The downward spiral of employer based healthcare has gone too far to be saved. Companies like General Motors are a thing of the past and government is playing more and more of a role in healthcare every year. The trend of cutting healthcare to save money by Walmart is becoming the norm for companies around the country. Thing will most likely get worse before they get better, but eventually the entire healthcare system will be reformed. The final result will be the government taking on most of the responsibility when it comes to healthcare, which will be a large price to pay for the taxpayers.