Commentary : Four Ways to Look at Deukmejian’s Employee Health Insurance Plan

At present, my technicians, managers and key personnel share in a group medical program. My company pays the employees’ share of the premium and the employee covers his dependents. The annual medical premium for our group of five is $16,680, $4,958 of which my company pays as an employee benefit.

From what I understand about the proposed health plan, the employer would have to pay 75% of the premium and the employee 25%. If all my employees were under a group plan with Blue Cross, the annual premium would be $95,600. This would mean my contribution would go from the current $4,958 to $71,700 per year. My annual expenses would then increase by $66,742, or $5,561.83 per month.

Among the problems this proposed plan would create are:

* Increased operating expense that would have to be passed to the customer with higher gas/diesel prices and increased repair bills.

* Increased administrative expenses. In my business, the average tenure for cashiers and driveway attendants is approximately two months, so that by the time an employee was enrolled in the program, he might be gone.

* A small business such as mine could go out of business because the market, controlled by the oil companies’ salary-operated stations, large independent retailers and major multiple dealers, might not allow increased costs to be passed into the marketplace.

Another factor to consider when one thinks of giving more benefits to the work force, especially in the lower income level, such as at service station outlets, is the fact that our work ethics have changed. I believe we have lost our pride in what we do for a living, whether it be a ditch digger, service station cashier or executive. Everyone believes he is worth more than he earns.

Therefore, the proposal by the governor to provide a health-care plan for all worries me because he is appealing to the masses, whether they deserve it or not. Whatever happened to the good old days when people set their sights high and worked very hard to attain their objectives?