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By: Gary Knight - For the North County Times
Friday, April 13, 2007
In my column last month, I wrote about the importance of jobs in a sustainable economy and in a community's development. I also pointed out that health care needs, transportation, dependable utilities and education needs must be met in order to have the quality of life that each of us wants.
This month, I want to look at the importance of health care in building a strong community.
Some basic statistics on health care:
- Spending on health care nationwide exceeded $2 trillion in 2005 and is projected to account for one-fifth of the gross domestic product, or GDP, by 2016.
- Per person, health care spending has increased 77 percent over the last 10 years.
- Hospital and physician services take the largest share of the health care dollar, at 53 percent.
- The amount spent per person on health care is $6,423 per year .
- Seven million people in California are without health insurance (by circumstance or by choice).
Simply put: Health care is expensive, and the costs continue to rise.
Fewer people are able to afford standard health insurance and thus rely on public assistance or hospital emergency rooms for their health care. More people are coming to this country and are unable or unwilling to spend their money on health insurance.
Putting this kind of pressure on our health care system is a disaster waiting to happen, if it hasn't already. Affordable health insurance is a fundamental need for the local work force.
As businesses seek qualified and skilled employees to fill jobs that become vacant as the baby boomer generation retires, they are finding fewer applicants in a highly competitive environment. One way that companies are differentiating themselves and becoming "employers of choice" is through incentives that include health care benefits.
I recently spoke with James Hilton, a local business student, about the importance of a potential employer offering a good health care plan.
"I don't think a lot about health care," Hilton said, "because I am healthy and only see a doctor when I break something. However, I wouldn't accept a job unless they had a full benefit package that included complete health care coverage."
On May 9, the North County Personnel Association of San Diego will be holding its annual summit on human resources at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Beginning at 8 a.m., this very subject will be addressed: how to be an employer of choice.
You can go to its Web site at www.ncpasd.org to learn more. |
