Retailers Must Provide Health Care to Employees for a Healthier Society

Strategic Insights -

President Clinton visited a food store and praised their support for health insurance for their employees. He emphasized the importance of retailers providing health benefits to their employees as a way to improve productivity, employee loyalty, and profits. The store, Pathmark, had 175 stores and had proved that it is possible to be socially responsible and still make a profit by providing health care to employees. The President noted that if all retailers provided insurance on equal terms to their employees, it would not give them a competitive advantage over those who did not provide insurance, and it would also reduce costs in the long run.

Key Takeaways:

  • The President emphasized the importance of retailers providing health benefits to their employees, citing the example of Pathmark which had 175 stores and had proved that it is possible to be socially responsible and still make a profit by providing health care to employees.
  • 9 out of 10 Americans who have private insurance get their insurance at work, and 8 out of 10 Americans who do not have health insurance are in working families, making it the most practical and realistic way to cover all Americans.
  • The current system is unfair as it gives competitors an advantage over those who provide health care to their employees, and it also prevents people from quitting welfare to go to work if they lose health care benefits.
  • The President praised Pathmark and the United Food and Commercial Workers for their support of health care reform and noted that the store's example could be replicated by other retailers.
  • The President emphasized that the current system is not fair and that it is essential to require employers to pay their fair share of health care costs.
  • The President also noted that the country would be a whole lot better off if all food stores in America did what Pathmark does.

Statistics:

  • 9 out of 10 Americans who have private insurance get their insurance at work, and 8 out of 10 Americans who do not have health insurance are in working families.
  • 100,000 Americans lose their health insurance permanently every month.

Sources:

  • Remarks by the President to the Pathmark Food Store employees, May 9, 1994
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) support for health care reform