Healthcare Costs Are Becoming Unsustainable

Amber Kostka, who owns The Stockpot restaurant in Hampton Roads, Virginia, says she has tried to do right by her employees by offering them health insurance, alongside good wages and a 401(k).

But as costs have risen—premiums have roughly tripled since the company first started offering health insurance in 2018—her employees are increasingly telling her they cannot afford health insurance. That's even though she splits the cost of premiums with employees, which are roughly $400 a month.

Instead, employees are dropping out of the plan and going uninsured, she said. About 35 percent of her eligible employees now buy the employer-sponsored health insurance, she says, down from 50 percent prior to COVID-19. She wants to warn them about the risks of going without insurance, she said, but also knows their finances are extremely tight. "It's just a cost thing, at the end of the day," she said. "You can’t stop paying for groceries."

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