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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
Nov./Dec. 2004 |
Casino workers can't afford health insurance on low salaries
By UNITE HERE Local 1
Dr. Jane Kiser of Indiana University Northwest studied the health care coverage of workers at Northwest Indiana 's riverboats. She discovered that an alarming number of full-time riverboat workers either forgo family coverage or turn to taxpayer-funded programs to provide health insurance for their families. Among her findings:
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17 percent of riverboat workers with families had no health coverage for their children.
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An additional 24 percent had enrolled their children on Hoosier Healthwise, Indiana 's publicly-funded health insurance program for low-income families.
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According to the study, these problems result from low wages and the high employee cost of insurance. Dr. Kiser found that policies to cover children cost riverboat workers as much as 16 percent of their annual wages.
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The median annual earnings of the riverboat workers in this study range from $18,000 to $25,000, depending on the employer. The median earnings at one boat, Blue Chip, fall below the federal poverty level for a family of four, $18,885.
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In addition, Dr. Kiser found that many riverboat workers have incurred debt due to medical costs. Over 44 percent of workers in the study reported that they are currently paying off medical bills through monthly payments. 30 percent say it will take over two years to pay it off.
Read Dr. Kiser's study, "Focus on Health" by logging on to www.riverboatwelfare.com/healthcare/focus_on_health.pdf.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008