Rising Healthcare Costs, Rising Wages – Are American Employers Prepared?

The Business Trendsetter Podcast

Rising Healthcare Costs, Rising Wages – Are American Employers Prepared?

Healthcare in America is changing – but oh so slowly. Only in the last year or two has telemedicine become viable. And costs for so many procedures are wildly out of line with costs for similar procedures in foreign countries. Meanwhile, only in America do employers pay for health insurance, something that is a government cost elsewhere, making their costs go up precipitously versus offshore companies.

Add on top of those costs the fact that demographics are driving far higher wages. Strikes have driven up labor costs as much as 40% at the top 3 US auto companies. And changing regulations mean that fast food workers in California will have a $22/hour minimum wage in 2024. With fewer workers, higher wages and skyrocketing healthcare costs due to an obsolete funding mechanism the question is – are US businesses going to remain competitive in global markets?

Thinking Points:

• Have you considered alternative employee mechanisms, such as greater use of gig workers, to help control costs?
• Are you aggressively investing in robotics, autonomous systems and AI to remove labor from your business model?
• Are you lobbying for changes to health care delivery and insurance to move the costs off your P&L?
• Are you investing in changes to grow your business, or are you liquidating your assets like GM?