Health Care Cost Hurting Business and Workers

General Motors announced a future with over 25,000 layoffs in the forecast over the next few years. They say that the burden of health care costs for meeting their obligations to retirees and present employees adds $1,500 to the price of every vehicle they make. They have ongoing negotiations with the unions in an effort to pass these costs off to labor. CEO Rick Wagnor said the health care costs give GM a "significant disadvantage versus foreign-based competitors." He spoke at the June 7, 2005 annual stock holders meeting.

GE employees had a rare strike in February of 2003 because the company was increasing their co-pay. Their last national strike was in 1969 but in January 2003 about 20,000 walked out for two days to protest GE's effort to pass a greater part of the burden to employees in the form of upping their co-pay. Everybody wants relief from the rising costs.

A CPA friend of mine who makes around $39,000 a year has to pay $7,920 for his share of the employee provided health insurance. Another friend who is a Pharmacist was paying over $800 per month in 2004 to buy his own insurance before he closed his store and went to work for a large drug store chain.

Even government employees are not immune to the suffering. Look at what the Oregon School Boards Association has to say in an article on their site entitled "The Perfect Storm: Rising Health Care Costs".