Decaf Healthcare

The social pressure on healthcare rises. But when the Big Boys of commerce go to the Hill to ask for a little relief, will the pullers of the purse-strings listen?
Starbucks will spend more on healthcare than on coffee; for car makers, they'll spend more on that line item than on steel.

Thursday, September 15, 2005
Starbucks, others try to balance worker health care with expenses
By CHARLES POPE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON -- Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz didn't mention Wal-Mart by name Wednesday as he took part in several Capitol Hill events designed to draw attention to the nation's health care "crisis."
But the implication, in both words and actions, was clear. Schultz was part of a group that included CEOs from Verizon, Costco, Honeywell and Pitney Bowes who came to Congress to jump-start efforts to control health care costs. Each of the companies offers health insurance to virtually all of its employees, even in the face of sharply rising costs. READ FULL ARTICLE>>