Home Industries Health Services Health of R.I. workforce is all of our jobs

Health of R.I. workforce is all of our jobs

By

Karl Wadensten

-

10/06/2025

Trending_2 — Karl Wadensten

Rising drug prices, skyrocketing hospital costs, and high-cost claims are hammering employers across the country. Rhode Island is no exception. While there are efforts underway to address the problem, too often business leaders, policymakers, and communities sit on the sidelines as this beast grows, thinking someone else will fix it. But whose job is

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Rising drug prices, skyrocketing hospital costs, and high-cost claims are hammering employers across the country. Rhode Island is no exception. While there are efforts underway to address the problem, too often business leaders, policymakers, and communities sit on the sidelines as this beast grows, thinking someone else will fix it. But whose job is it, really? The truth is, it’s all of our jobs. The first challenge is clear, get in the game, be at the table, and be part of the solution. For employers, the stakes could not be higher. Health care is not just a benefit, it’s the most critical piece of supporting our employees, the very people who make our organizations possible. During the workday, do we want our teams distracted and worried about runaway medical bills and the lack of primary care providers, or do we want them focused on the work that drives innovation and growth? The answer is obvious. But unless we take action, the distraction and financial stress will only deepen. As a RIMA member and in my role advising manufacturers, I know firsthand that our sector is neck-deep in this crisis. Employers take our responsibility seriously. We spend days, sometimes weeks, negotiating renewals with health providers, not because it’s easy but because it matters. It matters that the president of a company is also a customer of the health care system. It matters that our employees – our most valuable resource are locked arm-in-arm with us in this pivotal moment. That’s why it’s not enough to complain from the sidelines. You need to be in the room where these decisions are shaped. However, here’s the sad truth: the knee jerk response to rising costs has often been to cut back, raise deductibles, trim services that are already on life support and shift more costs to employees. That is not leadership that is survival mode and that will not get us where we need to go. The easy answer of “cut and shift” is failing both employers and employees. The harder, more important work is to demand a system that delivers value, transparency and affordability. We need disruptive change. Not disruption for its own sake, but disruptive thinking the kind that challenges the current condition. The kind that asks, “Why not?” instead of passively settling for “Why?” We need leaders, not commissions. We need change agents who understand that the cost of health care is out of control for all of us employers, employees and communities alike. We need everyone willing to step up, not just a handful of advocates. If you’re sitting back waiting for someone else to fix it, you’ve already lost. The recent survey by the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions shows employers are already pushing for more transparency, more data and better value-based models. In Rhode Island, efforts like the AHEAD program are testing new approaches. These are steps in the right direction. But they are not enough unless we as employers and as citizens commit to taking an active role. We know this crisis is happening across the country, but our responsibility starts here. We care about Rhode Island, and we have to fix what’s inside our own four walls first. If we do that, we can show the rest of the nation what real change looks like. At the end of the day, the health of our workforce is not just a line item. It’s the foundation of everything we do. If we want to stay competitive, if we want thriving businesses and strong communities, then the time for sideline-watching is over. I’m saying this as clearly as I can: it is our job every one of us to get in the game. We mean business. Karl Wadensten is a member of the R.I. Commerce Corp. board and president of VIBCO Vibrators, a manufacturing company based in Richmond. He has spent more than 25 years helping build and retain jobs in Rhode Island’s small and mid-sized business sector.