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Steve A. Harman

The Health Care Debate Continues
September 17, 2009
Posted by Steve A. Harman

Since my last blog on this subject in July, there have been a number of developments in the national debate about health care reform. Town Hall forums throughout the country have provided forums for the expression of a broad array of views with passion, fears and anger that to many observers was a shock. Last week, the President in an address to a joint session of Congress laid out his vision for health care reform.

Some interesting points in the debate have emerged including:

  • The need to control the cost of providing health insurance as a fiscal matter is imperative;
  • The need to provide access to quality health care to all citizens;
  • The fact that health care expenditures consumes almost 17% of GDP
  • Despite the huge expenditures on health care as compared to other developed, industrial nations, we are no healthier than our counterparts

Regardless of your views of the various proposals, curiously missing from the national debate is one essential factor – that is, we need to do a better job of taking responsibility for our own health. It seems neither political party is willing to engage in a national discussion and framing future policies along the lines of creating constructive incentives for Americans to change their own personal behavior. Many citizens have fallen into the trap of believing that medical research and science offers cures for our collective failings to take responsibility for making healthy lifestyle choices.

As human resource professionals, we have tried to take a leadership role in our agencies to educate and provide positive incentives to employees to engage in healthy lifestyle choices. Simple programs such as an at work weight reduction program, a lunch-time walking club and getting rid of the sugar laden sodas and candy in the vending machines can have a positive impact on the health of employees. A few employers I know of implemented more aggressive programs that offer compensation and rewards to employees to become and stay fit – some of those programs however, have run up against discrimination laws and have been scrapped.

The point is that we as public agency HR professionals have an important role to play in the national debate about our health care system.

In my next blog, I will share with you my recent personal experience with our current health care system.

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Retiree Health Benefits
July 15, 2009
Posted by Steve A. Harman

The subject of retiree health benefits has garnered a great deal of media attention. Agencies offering this benefit fall under the provisions of Government Accounting Standards Board Statement #45. The staggering long term cost of providing this benefit are coming to light and the reaction to that data by the public is predictable – newspapers, columnists and other so-called experts are outraged. In Northern California where I live, a day doesn’t go by without a letter to the editor, news report or editorial about the cost of this benefit. In fact, one area newspaper, in a recent editorial, blamed the State’s fiscal mess on the cost of providing this benefit to retired government employees.

Don’t get me wrong – this is a serious issue that requires the collective action of labor, management and elected officials to address.

But the real solution lies in health care reform. In my view, there are two fundamental issues that reform must address if it is to be successful. First is the escalating cost of health insurance. Before my retirement in 2008, the agency that I worked for had experienced premium increases over a 5-year period of more than 120% - and during the same time, benefit consumption declined! Of course the health insurance providers blamed the doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical industry...you get the message.

Second, we need to blame ourselves for the poor health choices we make. Simply put, we need to do a better job taking care of ourselves and I wonder to what degree we understand that concept.

I’m afraid that the national debate over health care reform is being controlled by the major players in the health care industry – the insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, etc. Their motivation for maintaining the status quo is quite compelling.

IPMA-HR has been at the forefront of educating HR professionals about this issue – in fact, at the last three International Training Conferences, there have been seminars addressing many aspects of this national issue. However, we need to collectively have a seat at the national table in this debate.

I would like to hear from you about this subject – tell me your insurance horror stories and your successes in complying with GASB #45. What worked, what did, how did you educate your agency’s employees? Tell me your story.

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Friend, Can you Spare A Dime (Or $24 Billion?)
May 27, 2009
Posted by Steve A. Harman

Last week the voters of California rejected five initiatives designed to close next year’s budget gap. According to the State’s Legislative Analyst, next year’s budget deficit is estimated at $24 billion (out of a $92 billion General Fund). There has been a great deal of speculation in the media why the voters decided, by overwhelming margins to vote down the proposal, which would have (allegedly) resulted in a balanced budget. Conservatives suggest that the vote was a signal to the liberals against new taxes; liberals argue that it was a message to the legislature and Governor that they need to take care of the people’s business and not reallocate previous voter approved funds from several programs to the State’s General Fund. At this point, the reasons are irrelevant.

Moreover, Washington has made it clear that there will be no bailout forthcoming.

Clearly the situation has reached a point that all the solutions under consideration will result in significant reductions in public services – from education, to public safety and public health. No programs regardless of its constituency are likely to escape huge reductions. Cities, counties and special district throughout the State are now preparing their budgets for next year; those budgets will include layoffs of large numbers of employees, wage and benefit freezes and reductions in direct program areas as well.

On a larger scale, both Democrats and Republicans are considering asking the voters to authorize a state constitutional convention. That should have happened years ago. Even Proposition 13 is on the table for review.

Human Resources Directors and staff will be called upon to provide leadership, fresh ideas and stability in an unstable environment. I hope that no HR Director in California has to bang on the decision maker’s door to get a seat at the table. Similarly, we have to live up to the expectations and be willing to tackle difficult situations with honesty, integrity and ethics. Are we ready?

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Let's Be More Like the Private Sector?
April 17, 2009
Posted by Steve A. Harman

During my thirty-two year career in local government, elected officials would ask me why can’t the human resources management system be more like the private sector? Generally, I would respond by gently suggesting that they had the power and authority to change the system should they have the political will to do so. That response would bring a quick end to the conversation.

Do we really want local government to operate more like the private sector? Are we ready to abandon a system of values including fairness, equity, due process and transparency, which have been at the core of government for many years? The current economic crisis with the failure of some of the most progressive, well-respected companies in the world suggests to me that “being more like them” doesn’t serve the public interest.

Ironically, as our Country works through the current economic crisis, it’s the government that has come to the aide of the private sector! And though government intervention, some of the business practices of the private sector have come to light, particularly in the area of executive compensation.

I hope one of the outcomes of the economic crisis is an end to the mistaken belief that government ought to operate more like a business and less like a government. The goals and objective of government are far different; we serve a broad constituency with high expectations for services.

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