Asa Hutchinson: “Then I received this letter from a different kind of employer. This is McKee Foods Corporation, a large company that is…”

“Then I received this letter from a different kind of employer. This is McKee Foods Corporation, a large company that is not headquartered in Arkansas. It is in Tennessee, I think, but they are a large employer in Arkansas, in Gentry, AR. I think they employ about 1,400. It is not an insignificant employer. They write: Dear Senator Hutchinson: The Senate will soon consider a proposal that will give Americans the right to use their insurance provider in state and federal court for coverage decisions. As a business owner, this prospect has me worried. McKee Foods has voluntarily sponsored its own health plan for more than 30 years. All of our employees and their families have the option to take part in our group coverage, including the 1,420 employees who work at our Gentry, Ark., manufacturing facility. In 2000, McKee Foods and its employees spent $25 million to provide health care benefits for all 6,100 of our employees and their families. The company directly paid for more than 75 percent of this amount. Over the last two years our group insurance benefit costs are up about 26 percent and our prescription drug benefit cost has nearly doubled. The company has absorbed most of the cost increases, but employee premiums have also risen by 10 percent. That is what the employees are paying and we are going to make that worse if we open this to unbridled lawsuits.”