IBM recently made a decision as to where to locate 4,000 new hires based on their analysis of where they received the best value from their healthcare expenditure. Consequently, they determined that Dubuque, Iowa was the best location to expand their employment.
The Following Is An Excerpt from “ Health Systems Spending Billions to Prepare for the “Last Battle” By Dave Chase
It is employers who foot most of the healthcare tab and are starting to flex their muscle. For example, IBM has shifted from thinking about healthcare as an employee benefit to a large cost driver that will impact their profitability.
IBM recently made a decision as to where to locate 4,000 new hires based on their analysis of where they received the best value from their healthcare expenditure. Consequently, they determined that Dubuque, Iowa was the best location to expand their employment.
With wide cost differentials, it’s conceivable that CFOs and CEOs will believe that their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders will necessitate the kind of analysis IBM acted upon. This is a scary prospect for communities that are high cost locations for healthcare.
This may shift how communities think about economic development. It turns out that having a great ROI for healthcare may be of greater benefit than a tax break. Conversely, communities with expensive healthcare have what amounts to a healthcare “tax” that will push businesses away.
