Permanent, not temporary, health care, please

In a past, pre-grad school life, I used to work for Kelly Temp Services--initially as a temp, and then they hired me (on a temporary basis, natch) to work in the main office, interviewing people, sending them out on jobs, etc. One of the things that really got to me on that job is how many of the people coming in weren't like me, a recent college grad just looking for some kind of paid gig while I figured out a "real" job, but were actually people who were temping because it was their only way into the work force. I interviewed (and sent out on jobs) people who lived in homeless shelters and called in, first thing every morning, from a pay phone to see if we had work; people who'd just been fired and needed a paying job immediately because the rent or the mortgage payment was due; and a woman who interviewed beautifully and then, as the interview went rather long because she had so many qualifications, asked, shamefaced, if she could run out to "plug the meter"--which I learned later meant "check on her two children who she'd left waiting in the locked car because she was too professional to take them into an interview but the whole family was living in a domestic violence shelter and she didn't have anyone she could leave them with." (That woman, by the way, had a full-time job with the fire department within two weeks of interviewing with me. Man, she was motivated.)

All of which is to say that despite growing anxieties about the temping of the American work force, I've got kind of a soft spot for Kelly; my sense was that the folks there knew very well who their workers were, and really did try to get them good gigs, at least in the office I worked for. They kind of seemed to serve as a cross between business and employment agency.

So I'm really not surprised--though I am pleased--that a reader who works for the company sent along this message from the company intranet:

I've been engaged in dialogue with others that share my concern for the state of U.S. health care and my passion for change. Over a period of several months, we discussed the actions that have to happen. On February 7, a partnership was announced. In addition to Kelly Services, founding members include: AT&T, the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy, the Center for American Progress, the Committee for Economic Development, the Communications Workers of America, Intel, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Wal-Mart.

We believe that business, government, labor, the health care delivery system, and the nonprofit sector must work together to deliver health care that is high quality, affordable, accessible, and secure.

The founding members have signed a document that includes the following principles:
We believe every person in America must have quality, affordable health insurance coverage;
We believe individuals have a responsibility to maintain and protect their health;
We believe that America must dramatically improve the value it receives for every health care dollar; and,
We believe that businesses, governments, and individuals all should contribute to managing and financing a new American health care system.


The founding members are committed to this campaign. Each of us has pledged personal involvement in order to ensure success. We will convene a national summit by the end of May, and we will recruit additional leaders to join us in forming a wide-ranging coalition.

In case you'd like to read more, I'm attaching titles of a few articles that describe this initiative:
Christian Science Monitor- Burdened by Healthcare Costs, US Businesses Seek a Shift
Washington Post- Wal-Mart, Union Join Forces on Health Care
USA Today- Wal-Mart Calls for Change in Health Care
Arkansas News Bureau- Wal-Mart, Union Foe Unite for Health Care Reform
Cincinnati Enquirer- Can Biz Reform Health Care?
Philadelphia Enquirer- Employers Cooperate for Health-Care Initiative

Can "biz" reform health care? Honestly and practically, they're really the only ones who can. Much as I am not a fan of Wal-Mart, I also think that if we had universal health care in this country, being poor would suck a lot less, and the problems of low wages, job outsourcing, and even temporary work would be much, much less of a big deal. And given that people's job situations can change rapidly, initiatives like my own Governator's plan are needlessly complicated and ridiculous. (Mandating health insurance? Providing assistance for people whose incomes fall below a certain amount? What happens when you go from a job that provides health insurance to one that doesn't? How are you going to "punish" people who don't buy health insurance? Why in god's name do we need to set up a new series of bureaucratic means testing and applications and proof of lack of insurance coverage elsewhere and all the rest of it when we could just fucking guarantee everyone a basic single-payer health plan funded through some kind of payroll tax?) Maybe with businesses pushing, including businesses that know a lot about the work patterns of people who can't move right into a 9-5 job, we might finally begin to see some sanity on this issue.