PLEASANTON, Calif. — Steve Burd, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Safeway here, defended the chain's ability to contain health care costs, in a letter this week to the health section of the Los Angeles Times.
Responding to an article several weeks earlier that ran under the headline, "Is It Your Boss' Business?" Burd said Safeway's approach had been misrepresented. "Here are the facts straight from the source," he wrote. "Safeway's 'all in' health care costs for employees and the company are the same today as they were five years ago, which is 33% lower than the national average increase in health care costs.
"During this period, Safeway reversed the national trend of rising obesity within our workforce and reduced the weight of that same group year-over-year. For participants in the program over the last three years, the rate of obesity is 21%, compared with the national average of nearly 34%. In 2010 we used incentives and wellness programs to help nearly 30% of our smokers stop smoking and 40% of our employees with dangerously high blood pressure to get it under control.
"Last year we launched Safeway Health, a company that helps other employers achieve similar success. With this vehicle we are energized about the role we and other like-minded companies can play in addressing the health care crisis."
