Today, we inaugurated a new president, and, as it is with every new administration, there will be changes. Elections do have consequences and, in this case, one of the areas where the changes may be profound is healthcare.
Since gaining a majority in both the House and the Senate, Republicans have vowed to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. And now, with the arrival of a Republican president, those attempts likely move from symbolic to reality.
That decision could have a direct impact on the healthcare for millions of Americans and an indirect impact on millions more.
That is one reason employees of the City of Columbus, Lowndes County and Columbus Light & Water can breath a little easier today.
The city council gave final approval to enter into a one-year contract with Baptist Medical Group for a primary care clinic for its employees. The county board of supervisors and CL&W board signed on in December.
The clinic, which would treat those employees without requiring a copay, is designed to reduce insurance premium costs for the employers as well. The clinic will also offer prescriptions at wholesale prices, which could be a significant savings for employees as well.
We believe this is an important move for each of these entities, especially when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees. Columbus, especially, has struggled in its efforts to recruit police officers to its understaffed department.
Recruiting employees involves any number of factors that go beyond salary. More and more, prospective employees are looking not only at their paycheck, but other perks. Often, benefits can be more important than even salary.
In a survey conducted by the online jobs website, Monster.com, employees rated healthcare as the most important factor in choosing a job. Almost a third of those surveyed — 32 percent — put a good healthcare plan at the top of the list, vacation time was second and pay was third.
Clearly, in the current atmosphere of uncertainty about healthcare, the decision made by the council and boards will be a real plus not only for current employees but for those new employees they are seeking to recruit.
For those employees, their healthcare became better and cheaper and at no additional cost.
And that’s good for all concerned.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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