Starbuck’s founder, Howard Schultz, was passionate about finding away to provide health insurance for all Starbuck’s employees. Each Starbucks coffee shop employees several people to take the drink orders, make the coffee and take the money. These positions do not require high level skills but do pay more than minimum wage (the national minimum wage rate is $7.25).
The challenge in providing health insurance for workers, as a corporation, is technically 75% of your staff must participate in the group health insurance plan in order for a group plan to be offered. The employees must also be willing to chip in for the monthly premium. This usually is no problem for higher income workers. But a monthly premium of $50 hits harder for an employee being paid $8 or $9 an hour and usually the premium is higher than $50 a month.
Senior care companies have the additional challenge of high employee turnover (even at nursing homes, the nursing aide turnover is often higher that at a fast-food restaurant due to the emotional and physical toll caregiving takes and the high number of patients each nursing aide must care for during a shift).
Starbucks succeeded in providing health insurance for all employees working at least 20 hours per week, and much to the dismay of many shareholders, the company takes the hit for this cost. Howard Schultz was passionate about this because as a child, his family suffered financial hardships because his father’s jobs did not provide health insurance. The family lived in public housing and he knew from experience that when your entire paycheck must pay for health problems, there is nothing left over.
In today’s current health system, the burden for insurance is placed on companies and there is not a good alternative for individuals seeking their own individual health insurance or for those who are unemployed. Unless you show up at the emergency room – and then the circle continues as hospitals and doctors eat these costs which are passed on in higher insurance costs and higher costs of services.
Professional caregivers should all be provided with health insurance benefits – – – there is such irony in being a caregiver yet not being cared for as an employee receiving health insurance – – – and even those who must quit their jobs to be a family caregiver should have access to affordable health insurance. That is not the case now.
PROFESSIONAL CAREGIVERS: LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE IN THE CAREGIVERLIST SURVEY
