Safeway's Burd pushes for health care reform
East Bay Business Times - 1:24 PM PST Wednesday
by David Goll

Steve Burd, president and CEO of Pleasanton-based grocery giant Safeway Inc., voiced his support Wednesday for reform of the nation's ailing health care system.

Burd was among a group of business leaders who joined U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) at a press conference in Washington. They expressed support for a bill sponsored by Wyden that they contend will provide "affordable, high quality, private health coverage for all individuals."

At present, there are about 47 million Americans who have no medical insurance. Many end up seeking treatment in the emergency rooms of publicly funded hospitals. The United States is unusual among major industrialized nations for having no government-supported health care.

"Sen. Wyden, with his commitment and passion for health care reform, has introduced an innovative proposal that lays a foundation to begin a serious discussion on health care reform in this country," Burd said in a statement.

"Our nation is facing a crisis that requires immediate attention. Working together, business, labor, government, consumer groups and health care providers can collectively solve this problem."

One of the biggest issues in the 2003-04 supermarket strike and lockout in Southern California, which included Safeway's Vons division, was spiraling employer health care costs. Burd said Wednesday that if no action is taken, health care expenses for companies are predicted to equal net profits by 2008.

Safeway officials support so-called consumer-driven health care plans, of which about 70 percent of the company's nonunion employees are now enrolled. These plans are cheaper for employers.

Those enrolled in consumer-driven plans are allotted a certain amount of money to be used for health care every year, and whatever is not used in one 12-month period is rolled over to the next.

While such plans have gained in popularity, critics say they reward members for not seeking medical help. Safeway officials say their portion of costs for this program have decreased 30 percent over the past two years.

"The problems facing the current health care system can be solved," Burd said. "Without some dramatic change, not only will the uninsured population continue to grow but the American worker will become less competitive..."

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