Tim's Talking About Health Care Reform, Insurance Costs and the Latest ASA Index Reports

I’ll be honest.  I have no idea how Health Care Reform will impact the staffing industry.  

I can see the demand for temps skyrocketing as companies shift to transitional workforces to save money.  It’s also possible that employers will see less differentiation in cost between temps and perms and elect to build their own work force.  

One thing I know for sure is that until all 2000 plus pages are digested and analyzed nobody knows the real impact Health Care Reform will have on our economy.

Personally, I’m not a fan of more government in my life.  I don’t believe reform will save money or improve quality.  It will continue this countries slide towards full blown socialism which has been going on for at least the past 75 years. 

But that just me.  Now it’s your turn.

Please take a few minutes to answer this month’s survey on Health Care Reform.  I promise to share the results with both of our Ohio Senators.

Insurance Costs

While I’ve never been a big believer in insurance, I do recognize it is something you must have.  Insurance is a lot like gambling.  You know the house is going to come out on top yet you still place the bet.  

Here is how I bet.

For the past 18 years I have gambled on high deductible catastrophic Health Insurance coverage.  My current coverage for my family looks like this:

Individual deductible         $10,000
Individual out of pocket     $17,500
Total out of pocket             $17,500

Family Deductible             $20,000
Family out of pocket          $15,000
Total out of pocket             $35,000

Lifetime benefit                  $6,000,000/person

These seem like huge numbers and they are much higher than most employer paid plans but don’t forget being self-employed means you’re paying 100% of the cost yourself.  

For this coverage I am currently paying about $2,700/year.  When you compare this to the $13,000/year cost of more traditional policies you can see that I’m saving $10,000/year . . .on insurance.

Over the years we’ve had our share of family medical expenses like most.  Fortunately we haven’t had a major medical experience.  But even if we had, the $17,500 to $35,000 out of pocket expense would be manageable because those insurance policy savings, over the years have been safely set aside for just that purpose.  

When you think about it, the maximum out of pocket expense is about the same as buying a new car . . .which most of us can find a way to do.  And despite what the doomsayers will have you believe a $6 million lifetime benefit is extremely rare to exceed.

The real kicker is that my approach which is commonly known as the Health Saving account approach is one of the things to be eliminated by Health Care Reform.  Go Figure.

Things Getting Better

The ASA staffing index for December 2009 increased to 87.  The index has been as low as 69 at the beginning of the year.

Temporary employment has increased 23% since July.  Increases in temporary employment have been indicators of economic growth coming out of past recessions.

Minimum Wage

Both Federal and Ohio minimum wage rates will remain unchanged in 2010.