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Contact: Ken Jacobs
Phone: (510) 643-2621
Email:
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 Secure and Affordable Health Care Act of 2008: Impact on Payroll Costs in California
January 2008, by Ken Jacobs and Dave Graham-Squire
» Data Brief 
This report analyzes what California employers' health care contributions would be under the proposed Secure and Affordable Health Care Act of 2008.
 Modeling Employer Participation in Adult Healthcare Coverage Expansion in San Mateo County
October 2007, by Ken Jacobs and Lucas Ronconi, for the San Mateo County Blue Ribbon Task Force on Adult Health Coverage Expansion.
» Report
» Powerpoint Presentation
Report for the San Mateo County Blue Ribbon Task Force on Adult Health Coverage Expansion; assesses options for employer participation in a new county health care access expansion program and analyzes the potential for generating revenue for the program.
 Health Coverage Expansion in California: What Can Consumers Afford to Spend?
September 2007, by Ken Jacobs, Korey Capozza, Dylan H. Roby, Gerald F. Kominski and E.
Richard Brown
» Research Brief
» Appendix: Methodology
» Press Coverage
Report analyzes what families are currently spending on health care in California, and finds that health care represents a significant expense for families with incomes less than 300% of the federal poverty line. The authors recommend that any health care reform policy adopted in California include adequate affordability protections for those families.
 Impact of Health Benefit Reductions in the Unionized Grocery Sector in California
August 2007, by Arindrajit Dube and Ken Jacobs
» Preliminary Findings
» Powerpoint Presentation
» Press Coverage
Analyzes the impact of changes in grocery worker labor contracts on healthcare coverage and utilization.
 Small Raise: Jobs, Wages and Healthcare in 2007
August 2007, by Arindrajit Dube, Ken Jacobs and Dave Graham-Squire
» Powerpoint Presentation
» Press Coverage
The Labor Center's annual briefing on California and national wage, employment and union trends.
 Health Coverage Proposals in California: Impact on Businesses
July 2007, by Ken Jacobs, Lucas Ronconi and Dave Graham-Squire
» Research Brief
» Press Release
» Press Coverage
This study analyzes the potential economic impact of two of the main health care reform proposals under consideration in California, Governor Schwarzenegger’s health care reform proposal and Assembly Bill 8. Both proposals include provisions requiring employers to spend a minimum percentage of their payroll on employee health care or pay an en lieu fee to the state. The study finds that neither the Governor’s plan nor AB 8 will result in job losses in California, which has been a key argument of CA health care reform opponents. It forecasts that most firms will experience little or no net change in business operating costs after a short adjustment period.
Testimony for the Governor's Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits Commission
May 2007, by Ken Jacobs
» Testimony
Testimony about cost trends in retiree health benefits, how private sector employers are
responding to those trends, and the implications for the public. Includes a discussion
of steps that could be taken in the current health policy reform debates to control health premium
inflation.
 California Healthcare: Firm Spending and Worker Coverage
March 2007, by Dave Graham-Squire, Ken Jacobs and Arindrajit Dube
» Research Brief
» Waiting Periods for Employer Sponsored Insurance
» Offer, Eligibility and Coverage by Industry
Research Brief discusses implications of the major new health reform proposals in California, which include fees for employers who spend less than a specified amount of total payroll on healthcare. In order to understand the impacts of these policies, it is important to look at the current patterns of healthcare spending as a percent of payroll in California. Of particular interest are those workers without any health coverage and the healthcare spending patterns of their employers. The data describe the amount California employers spend on healthcare as a percent of total employee payroll.
 Declining Health Coverage in the Southern California Grocery Industry
January 2007, by Ken Jacobs, Arindrajit Dube and Felix Su
» Summary Findings
» Powerpoint Presentation
» Press Coverage
These summary findings assess the effects of a new contract for grocery workers in Southern California in March 2004 that significantly restructured health insurance coverage. The research draws on United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) actuarial and membership data and union survey responses to document the impact of benefits changes on health coverage and utilization in both Southern and Northern California. It concludes that the contract changes have dramatically reduced health coverage in the grocery industry in the Southern half of the state, diminished the rate of health care utilization, and exacerbated the annual turnover rate for grocery workers in Los Angeles.
Establishing a San Francisco Taxi Driver Health Care Coverage Plan
March 2006, by Rhonda Evans, Jabril Bensedrine, Ken Jacobs and Carol Zabin (for the City & County of San Francisco, Department of Public Health)
» Report
This report was written for the San Francisco Department of Public Health and explores options for expanding health care coverage to the city’s taxi drivers. It lays out different options for stakeholders’ participation in funding and implementing a health care program, and compares the pros and cons of several alternative plans.
 Declining Job-Based Health Coverage in the United States and California: A Crisis for Working Families
January 2006, by Arindrajit Dube, Ken Jacobs, Sarah Muller, Bob Brownstein and Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
» Report
Due in large part to skyrocketing premiums, job-based health coverage—a cornerstone of our health care system—has eroded over the past five years. For every 10% increase in premiums costs, 1.4 million fewer working family members receive job-based insurance. Most adults losing such coverage become uninsured, while most children move to public coverage. This report both documents and forecasts trends in job-based health care coverage that will be of interest to policy makers, health care analysts, and concerned citizens in California and nationally.
Internal Wal-Mart Memo Validates Findings of UC Berkeley Study
October 2005, by Arindrajit Dube, Ken Jacobs and Steve Wertheim
» Research Brief
The Labor Center’s report, The Hidden Cost of Wal-Mart Jobs, found that Wal-Mart workers disproportionately rely on taxpayer funded public health programs in California compared to workers in large retail as a whole. An internal Wal-Mart memo reported on in The New York Times provides data from Wal-Mart validates the basic findings of that UC Berkeley report. This research note highlights this confirming evidence, focusing on workers’ and dependent children’s health coverage.
 Kids at Risk: Declining Employer-Based
Health Coverage in California and the United States
August 2005, by Arindrajit Dube, Ken Jacobs, Sarah Muller, Bob Brownstein and Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
» Policy Brief
» Press Coverage
This report focuses on children’s healthcare coverage status, scrutinizing recent trends and modeling future patterns. The authors determine the indirect effects of skyrocketing premiums on children’s coverage status, breaking apart the results by income levels. The study then simulates trends through 2010, finding an increase in the number of uninsured children in both California and nationally. The authors close with the policy implications of their findings.
 Falling Apart: Declining Job-Based
Health Coverage for Working Families in California and the United
States
June 2005, by Arindrajit Dube, Ken Jacobs, Sarah Muller, Bob Brownstein and Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
» Policy Brief
» Appendix: Methodology
» Powerpoint Presentation: Summary
» Powerpoint Presentation: National Trends & Projections
» Press Release
» Press Coverage
This policy brief focuses on state and national patterns in healthcare coverage of non-elderly working adults. The authors model the effects of increasing premium costs on health coverage status, and forecast a significant decrease in job-based coverage along with a sizeable increase in the number of uninsured working adults state and nationwide.
Hidden Cost of Wal-Mart Jobs: Use of Safety Net Programs by Wal-Mart Workers in California
August 2004, by Arindrajit Dube and Ken Jacobs
» Briefing Paper
» Authors' Response to Wal-Mart's Statements
» Press Coverage
This widely publicized report finds Wal-Mart’s wage and health benefits packages for its California workers to be below average as compared to the overall retail sector in California. The authors also find a greater reliance upon public assistance programs among Wal-Mart workers as compared to other California retail workers. Finally, the authors estimate the additional costs to taxpayers of “Wal-Martization”—the adoption of Wal-Mart’s wage and health benefits standards by retailers throughout California.
Wage and Health Benefit Restructuring in California's
Grocery Industry: Public Costs and Policy Implications
July 2004, by Arindarjit Dube and Alex Lantsberg
» Report
» Summary
This study analyzes the 2004 labor agreement between southern California grocers and employees, and examines the implications for grocery workers statewide as well. The authors predict that the agreement will result in the loss of employer-sponsored health insurance for one-third to one-half of the sector’s employees. The ensuing shift to public health care plans and emergency room care will translate to greatly increased costs to taxpayers, effectively transferring the burden from employers to the public. The authors conclude with policy solutions to this looming problem.
Workforce Needs in California’s Homecare System
May 2004, by Eileen Boris, Gawon Chung, Linda Delp, Ruth Matthias and Carol Zabin
» Briefing Paper
This briefing paper summarizes the substantial advantages of California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, and argues for the continuation of the program in the face of potential budget cuts. The authors document the higher costs to the state of nursing home care compared to home care, and outline the positive effects of workers’ higher wages and benefits on worker recruitment/labor supply, worker turnover, the quality of care, and lowered public costs.
The Hidden Public Costs of Low-Wage Jobs in California
November 2004, by Carol Zabin, Arindrajit Dube and Ken Jacobs, The State of California Labor 2004, University of California Institute for Labor and Employment.
» Report
» Report Summary
» Press Coverage
This report highlights the considerable number of working families in California’s public assistance programs, providing demographic and employment profiles of the families. The authors simulate various policy changes—including wage floors and universal employer-sponsored health insurance—and calculate the reductions in public assistance program costs flowing from the decreased reliance upon the programs. Finally, the authors survey policies and economic development strategies designed to alleviate the problem of low-wage employment.
2003 California Establishment Survey: Preliminary Results on Employer Based Healthcare Reform
September 2003, by Arindrajit Dube and Michael Reich
» Research Brief
Early findings from a survey of California firms’ opinions on then-proposed Senate Bill 2, which would have created employer-sponsored health insurance for all state firms with more than twenty employees. The survey results demonstrate that a majority of firms were in favor of the bill, and the authors calculate the number of businesses covered by the proposed law. The authors then calculate the cost of SB 2 to the average covered firm.
Impact of SB2 on Health Coverage
September 2003, by Arindrajit Dube
» Research Brief
An examination of the effects of the 2003 Senate Bill 2, which, had it been enacted, would have required employers in California to either provide health coverage to their workers or pay a fee to the state for that purpose. This brief forecast possible impacts, including the number of uninsured Californians to gain health coverage under the law and how variously-sized businesses would have been affected.
Productivity Impact of Health Care Reform in California
August 2003, by Arindrajit Dube
» Research Brief
» Executive Summary
This study examines the impact that providing health care insurance to currently uninsured California working-age adults would have for the state economy as a whole. The author quantifies productivity gains yielded from the elimination of “job lock” – a phenomenon whereby workers stay at jobs only because of the health benefits. The study also estimates the economic impact of labor force participation for individuals who are currently too unhealthy to work, but would be enabled to do so if they had health care coverage.
Working Family Members on Medi-Cal: Enrollment and Cost by Industry and Size of Employers
August 2003, by Arindrajit Dube
» Research Brief
This research brief calculates the number of people enrolled in Medi-Cal who are also members of working families. The report also calculates the costs to the state of working-family member enrollment in Medi-Cal, and identifies the industries whose employees are disproportionately represented in the Medi-Cal system.
Paid Family Leave in California: An Analysis of Costs and Benefits
June 2002, by Arindrajit Dube and Ethan Kaplan
» Report
A cost-benefit analysis of 2002’s Senate Bill 1661, which extended California’s paid leave laws to include care for family members. The report begins with a survey of existing research on paid family leave legislation, and then provides an estimation of the costs of SB 1661 implementation, both for employers and employees. The authors conclude with an analysis of the benefits, including intangible health benefits, and the potential cost savings to employers and state government.
 The California Healthcare Crisis: Impact on California Economy and Budget
2002, by Arindrajit Dube
» Powerpoint Presentation
A slide-show presentation of facts documenting the negative fiscal impacts to the State of California of the current state healthcare system.
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