Health Care

Providing health care benefits to workers is becoming increasingly expensive for manufacturers, but Congress can take measures to help offset these costs, according to a new NAM study.

What’s going on: The NAM released “Manufacturers on the Front Lines of Communities: A Deep Commitment to Health Care” yesterday. The report includes the results of surveys and manufacturer interviews that detail industry-wide health benefits and trends, as well as federal policy proposals that could jeopardize manufacturers’ ability to continue offering health care plans.

Key findings: Below are some of the report’s most notable takeaways:

• Tax incentives: Designing and offering health care benefits is getting more expensive for employers. To fight these rising costs, Congress must keep in place the tax benefits offered to companies providing such plans to workers.
• Affordability: Employer-offered health care must be affordable for employees. To ensure that it is, Congress should consider seeking revision of some of the opaque rules governing health and flexible savings accounts and pharmacy benefit managers.
• Early intervention: Intervening in health-related situations early—as in the cases of obesity, cancer and other conditions—can lower future costs for employers and employees alike. Primary care can catch and help correct many illnesses and so must be incentivized.

The last word: “Manufacturers feel a deep commitment to providing quality health care for their employees despite the increased costs and challenges of doing so,” said NAM Director of Human Resources and Innovation Policy Julia Bogue.

• “Manufacturers are innovative in their health benefits to best address the challenges employees face, from primary care to chronic-condition management.”

The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, which expires at the end of September, is critical to public-health emergency readiness. Yet, a Senate bipartisan discussion draft to reauthorize it contains some provisions that are troubling to manufacturers, the NAM told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions this week.

The background: The Senate released a draft of a bill last week to reauthorize PAHPA, a measure passed in 2006 with the intention of ensuring national readiness for public-health emergencies.

Imposing price caps: The draft contains a requirement to cap the cost of any product that has received support from either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority “at the lowest price charged for such … product[s]” among the G7 countries (the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom).

• Such a move would erase the advances made over the decades since the 1980 passage of the Bayh-Dole Act, which created mutually beneficial economic partnerships between the federal government, universities and private industry, NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram said in his message to the committee.
• A price limit “would reduce the positive impact of the Bayh-Dole Act by imposing price controls on products developed through the innovation spurred by these partnerships,” he said.

Deterring innovation: Pricing controls also threaten continued scientific advancements of the sort that have cured once-prevalent diseases and solved “some of the world’s most prevalent and challenging health issues,” Netram continued.

• “The development of new medicines demands tremendous financial investment, many years of intensive effort and a willingness to accept significant risk. While public–private partnerships are important in stewarding new drugs to market, pharmaceutical companies bear almost the entire cost of discovering new drugs, ushering them to approval and scaling them through manufacturing.”
• In 2019, the pharmaceuticals industry invested more than $83 billion in the research and development of new drugs, Netram said, citing Congressional Budget Office data.

Stopping the flow of medication: Perhaps most concerningly, setting cost caps on drugs also jeopardizes the flow of medications to those who need them, Netram told the committee.

• “Price controls … restrict the supply of medicines to patients,” Netram concluded. “As such, price control language should be excluded from the PAHPA.”

More than $42 billion will be given to states to expand their broadband internet access, the White House announced this week, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: “States and territories have been jockeying for months for their share of $42.5 billion allocated in an internet-construction fund called the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program. The law requires that federal agencies use a new, more accurate map of where high-speed internet service is missing before disbursing the funds.”

• Texas will get the most money under the project ($3.3 billion) followed by California ($1.9 billion). Also set to receive significant sums are the less-populous Alaska, West Virginia and Montana.

The goal: The effort is meant to connect everyone in the U.S. to “affordable, high-speed internet service by 2030,” according to the Journal.

Why it’s important: Approximately 8.5 million U.S. households and businesses are located in areas of the country without access to high-speed internet access, which the Biden administration called “a necessity in today’s society” in an announcement about the funds.

• BEAD is one of six federal internet-construction programs authorized by the NAM-backed bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021.
• The legislation also includes $2.75 billion for digital equity and inclusion and $2 billion in loans and grants for internet infrastructure in rural locations, CNET reports.

Our view: “Manufacturers supported the bipartisan infrastructure law, and today’s historic broadband investment announcement will enhance industry operations through leading edge connectivity,” the NAM tweeted on Monday. “Thank you @POTUS for your leadership to advance domestic [manufacturing] priorities.”

“Making a difference” might be the best description of what Mountaire Farms does. Founded in 1914, the fifth-generation family-owned chicken processing company has a long history of helping its communities thrive. 

Mountaire Cares: Through its Mountaire Cares program, the company’s employees are committed to changing lives for the better.

• “The Mountaire Cares program was created to fulfill three main core pillars: how are we faithful to our people, how are we faithful to our communities and how can we look to be faithful to the future,” said Mountaire Cares Director JR LaPearl.

Meals for thousands: One of Mountaire Farms’ biggest events during the year is its Meals for Thousands program, where the company partners with local churches, food banks and nonprofit organizations to provide meals for families in need at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

• The program had humble beginnings 28 years ago, with Roger Marino, who was PR and community relations director at Mountaire, leading the group to provide 300 meal boxes at Thanksgiving. The company has distributed more than 1 million boxes since then.
• For this year’s Easter event, the company’s employees and other volunteers packed 15,000 meal boxes, each of which contained a Mountaire roaster chicken; vegetables; macaroni and cheese; mashed potatoes and gravy; and brownies—enough food to feed a family of four.
• “Our employees really enjoy being a part of this effort to give back to the community,” LaPearl said. “What I love about these events is that they bring people together to share love and kindness to one another.”

Feeding all year long: But hunger doesn’t just exist during holidays. Mountaire Farms donates chicken to local food pantries every month so they can help fill the need all year long. And they partner with groups like nonprofit organizations, little leagues, fire companies and more that use chicken to help fundraise during the year.

And that’s not all . . .  Mountaire’s food programs are just one way the company gives back. It has partnered with Habitat for Humanity and several Boys & Girls Clubs on service projects, while also collaborating with local schools on renovations of playgrounds and basketball courts.

Why they do it: For LaPearl, it all starts with the company’s mantra “High Performance for a Higher Purpose,” striving to be a positive light to those around them.

• “Our people are the reason we’re able to do what we do and give back,” said LaPearl. “If it’s not volunteering, it’s the everyday work that we do that really helps to feed families here locally, around the region and around the world. It’s interesting when our employees are upset they were unable to volunteer on a particular day. I remind them that what you’re doing on a daily basis is making a major impact in the lives of people that you don’t even know because of your hard work and performance.”
• “When I have the opportunity to visit our processing plants and I see people smiling, singing in their respective cultural languages and just enjoying their job, that speaks volumes in today’s culture. I can tell they love being here. That’s the way we’re built.”

Mountaire cares about its employees: Through Mountaire Cares, the company offers leadership classes to help employees succeed in their roles and advance in their careers. It also provides scholarships to children and grandchildren of employees.

• In addition, the company built medical facilities at each of its processing plants, and recently established a chaplaincy program that offers employees guidance in times of crisis and high stress.

The last word: LaPearl has some advice for manufacturers who may want to start a program similar to Mountaire’s:

• “Clearly understand your strengths as a company and create an exceptional foundation to build off that. We weren’t able to do all of this overnight, so start small and really focus the first few years on going slow and being purposeful. And always show your employees you care.”

“Making a difference” might be the best description of what Mountaire Farms does. Founded in 1914, the fifth-generation family-owned chicken processing company has a long history of helping its communities thrive.

Mountaire Cares: Through its Mountaire Cares program, the company’s employees are committed to changing lives for the better.

• “The Mountaire Cares program was created to fulfill three main core pillars: how are we faithful to our people, how are we faithful to our communities and how can we look to be faithful to the future,” said Mountaire Cares Director JR LaPearl.

Meals for thousands: One of Mountaire Farms’ biggest events during the year is its Meals for Thousands program, where the company partners with local churches, food banks and nonprofit organizations to provide meals for families in need at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The program had humble beginnings 28 years ago, with Roger Marino, who was PR and community relations director at Mountaire, leading the group to provide 300 meal boxes at Thanksgiving. The company has distributed more than 1 million boxes since then.

• For this year’s Easter event, the company’s employees and other volunteers packed 15,000 meal boxes, each of which contained a Mountaire roaster chicken; vegetables; macaroni and cheese; mashed potatoes and gravy; and brownies—enough food to feed a family of four
• “Our employees really enjoy being a part of this effort to give back to the community,” LaPearl said. “What I love about these events is that they bring people together to share love and kindness to one another.”

Read the full story here. 

Update: The National Association of Manufacturers has called on congressional leadership to support and advance legislation aimed at reforming the pharmacy benefit manager market in a later dated November 7th. Click here to read the letter. Click here to take action.

Pharmacy benefit managers—companies that were first established to manage the cost of prescription drugs—are contributing to soaring health care costs and driving up the price of medications. These entities cannot go unchecked, and Congress must act, an NAM ad campaign launched Thursday is advocating.

What’s going on: The campaign, which includes both TV and digital ads, calls out PBMs—“middlemen owned by large health insurers”—for pocketing sizeable discounts from drug manufacturers rather than passing on the discounts or rebates to workers or employers.

• “America’s manufacturing workforce has struggled with skyrocketing health care costs driven by insurer-owned PBM middlemen for far too long,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons.
• “Manufacturers are committed to providing quality health care benefits to our employees, so we need reforms to stop insurer-owned PBMs from keeping discounts and driving up prescription drug costs.”

Why it’s important: PBMs emerged in the late 1960s as a way of helping insurance companies and employers contain spending on prescription medications—but their business model has evolved significantly in the past half-century.

• Now just a few PBMs—subsidiaries of bigger health care firms—control up to 89% of the prescription drug market and operate with limited federal oversight.
• And they exert even more control in the industry by steering business toward specific pharmacy networks, frequently ones owned by their parent companies.

Congressional moves: Congress is considering various legislative solutions to address PBM rebate, fee and payment structures.

The last word: “Manufacturers support reforms to the PBM model that increase transparency, ensure pharmaceutical savings are passed from the PBM to workers and plan sponsors and delink PBM compensation from the list price of medication,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Congress must reform the PBM system so employers can negotiate, compete and achieve profit savings.”

NAM in the news: POLITICO’s Influence newsletter highlighted the NAM’s campaign.

Tell Congress To Reform PBM’s Today

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers has launched a six-figure television and digital advertising campaign calling for reforms to ensure pharmacy benefit managers pass on prescription drug discounts directly to workers and employers. The campaign spotlights how these insurer-owned middlemen are contributing to skyrocketing health care costs and driving up the cost of medicines by pocketing big discounts from drugmakers instead of passing them on to America’s workforce.

“America’s manufacturing workforce has struggled with skyrocketing health care costs driven by insurer-owned PBM middlemen for far too long,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “PBMs pocket big discounts from prescription drugmakers instead of passing them on to workers and employers. Manufacturers are committed to providing quality health care benefits to our employees, so we need reforms to stop insurer-owned PBMs from keeping discounts and driving up prescription drug costs.”

To view the latest television ad, click here.

-NAM- 

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.90 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 55% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Title 42 has been a fixture in the news in recent days—but what is it and what does its recent end mean? We break it all down here.

What’s going on? Title 42, which went into effect March 2020, was a COVID-19-era policy that allowed the U.S. to expel migrants for health reasons. Under it, more than 2.6 million people were sent back to their home countries, according to The Washington Post (subscription).

• Now that Title 42 has concluded, authorities are only permitted to expel individuals using Title 8, pre-pandemic immigration rules, The New York Times (subscription)

What should we expect? Though an expected weekend “surge” in border crossings did not materialize—in fact, there was a 50% drop in the three days ending Monday, according to the Associated Press—“the number of crossings is still exorbitantly high, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopping more than 10,000 immigrants per day this week, the highest levels ever,” the Washington Examiner reports.

• And southern border communities remain on “high alert” for a potential near-term spike in migrant crossings, according to CNN.

How is the administration addressing the change? The Department of Homeland Security—which has issued a proposed rule on asylum—put out a six-pillar plan to address an influx of migrants at the southern border. The measures aim to:

• Increase resources, personnel, transportation and medical support and facilities;
• Bolster CBP processing efficiency;
• Move quickly to mitigate potential overcrowding of CBP stations and alleviate the burden on the surrounding border communities;
• Administer consequences for unlawful entry, including removal, detention and prosecution;
• Boost the capacity of nongovernmental organizations to take in migrants following processing by CBP, during the wait for results of their immigration removal proceedings;
• Target and disrupt the criminal organizations and smugglers that profit off vulnerable migrants and seek to move illegal drugs into the U.S.; and
• Collaborate with international and federal authorities to deter undocumented migration.

What’s Congress doing? The House passed a border package, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, the day Title 42 expired.

• The House measure—which the White House has said it would veto—“would mandate that Customs and Border Protection hire enough Border Patrol agents to maintain a staff of 22,000 and develop a plan to upgrade existing technology to make sure agents are well-equipped. It also would require the homeland security secretary to resume construction of the border wall,” according to NBC News.
• The Senate has two proposals to secure the border. One, by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), would give the U.S. temporary authority to expel for two years migrants who try to enter illegally or without proper documents. The other, the Securing Our Border Act from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and others, would fund “nonintrusive border inspections” and border-wall construction, as well as retention bonuses for CBP agents, and would end the current “catch and release” policy.

What’s the NAM doing? The NAM continues to advocate immigration reform through “A Way Forward,” its immediately implementable policy blueprint for legislators, meetings with key congressional leaders, member-story and news coverage (see here, here and here for a few examples), the Competing to Win Tour and more.

The NAM is opposing the reintroduction of legislation that would institute “card check” and other labor policies harmful to manufacturers.

What’s going on: A coalition of nearly 100 organizations including the NAM urged Congress last week to reject the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, introduced in the House in February by Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-VA).

• “This bill would limit workers’ right to secret ballot elections, trample free speech and debate, jeopardize industrial stability, threaten vital supply chains, limit opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs, cost millions of American jobs and greatly hinder the economy,” they told Congress.

What’s in it: This legislation would significantly worsen—not improve—conditions for employees, the coalition argued. It would:

• Limit workers’ free speech and remove the right to vote via secret ballots.
• Hand confidential worker information over to unions without employee consent.
• Allow unions to choose bargaining units that maximize their chances of winning elections.
• Eliminate right-to-work laws.
• Allow intermittent strikes and remove bans on unions boycotting companies that do business with those engaged in an active labor dispute.

The cost: “The economic impact of the PRO Act would be catastrophic,” the coalition continued, citing one study which “found that the bill’s independent worker reclassification provision alone could cost as much as $57 billion nationwide, while the joint-employer changes would cost franchises up to $33.3 billion a year, lead to over 350,000 job losses, and increase lawsuits by 93%.”

In the spotlight: Many provisions of the PRO Act were raised during a hearing Wednesday of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)—demonstrating that this issue and this legislation will remain a top priority for him and others in the Senate.

Pella Corp. does more than make windows and doors; it has helped create a welcoming, pleasant community in its namesake Iowa town.

To help attract and retain workers, the privately held, family-owned, 98-year-old company and its shareholders are investing in a number of crucial amenities and services, including child care, housing and dining/entertainment options.

We spoke to Pella Corp. Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer John Bollman recently, and he told us how it happened.

A great first impression: Prospective hires in need of relocation always get a full tour of the town—and they are always impressed, according to Bollman.

• “People consistently come back [from the tours] and say, ‘Wow, I’m surprised—in a positive way—in the community. It’s a small community, but it’s beautiful and vibrant.’”
• “Pella is a community that takes pride in its heritage and history and the shareholder family has always played a key role in enhancing the community’s appeal,” he added.

How it happened: Several years ago, Pella Corp. President and CEO Tim Yaggi, in a presentation to Pella Corp. shareholders, indicated that different investments were needed to improve local housing, child care and amenities. These upgrades would help the company attract and retain the talent it needed to achieve its long-term growth goals, Yaggi said.

• The shareholder family committed nearly $30 million to these initiatives, which included investment in the construction of a high-end condominium/townhouse complex, as well as a 160-acre development geared toward median-income households.
• They also purchased, remodeled and expanded a local building, turning it into a state-of-the-art daycare facility. In 2021, under the management of national daycare operator New Horizon Academy, the Pella New Horizon Academy opened, serving children aged six weeks through 5 years.
• In addition, they partnered with fellow Pella-based firm Vermeer Corp. to bring Smash Park, a craft-food and entertainment venue, to the town.
• And last, the company helped to establish both a local Chick-fil-A restaurant and Liberty Street Kitchen, one of the community’s fine-dining establishments.

A holistic approach: Pella Corp. knows that when it fills a job at the company, it’s also bringing in new town residents, and that’s a responsibility it takes seriously.

• “When you’re recruiting talent, the company is assessing fit for the role,” Bollman said. “But when it comes to location, our job is to facilitate the ability of the candidate—and if they have a family, the family, too—to determine whether Pella as a community is a good fit.”
• The approach is paying off. One recent key hire had to relocate for the position, and before the family visited the town of Pella, they were certain they wanted to live in larger Des Moines, about an hour away. “But because they were able to find good child care and housing, they decided to live in Pella,” Bollman said.

Meeting parents’ needs: The high cost and low availability of child care is an enormous burden on families, so it’s no surprise that the affordably priced, high-quality Pella New Horizon Academy is highly sought after.

• The center, which is currently at capacity at 140 children and has a waitlist of about 50, is open to all. Nearly a third are Pella Corp. employees’ kids, according to Bollman.
• “We wanted to invest in child care for our team members and our broader community,” he said.
• The cost is 35-40% less than the average price of daycare in Des Moines, according to Bollman. 

Onward and upward: Pella Corp. has big plans for its child-care initiative, says Bollman. If it can expand its staff, “we could go to 194 enrolled kids, and with some additions to the building, that could go to 225.”

• He has no doubt that the center will easily fill those spaces. “Everyone I’ve talked to that has a child at the center is just over the moon.”