Healthcare Coverage May Hurt Seniors

Letter to the Editor

The Globe employs an inflammatory headline, alarming language, and visuals to morph a major study of urgent importance for employers, aging workers, and the healthcare community into a chilling prediction of approaching fiscal calamity for the entire state ("Health costs of aging workers imperil state," June 14). 

The landmark report by the New England Health Care Institute and the Boston Foundation is a call to action that rightly sounds the alarm for improving the health of aging workers.

Yet, as director of the state’s leading advocate for mature workers, I worry that Jeffrey Krasner’s exaggerated interpretation could lead employers to conclude that older workers are simply too expensive to put on the payroll.

While it’s undeniable that this group is sure to face its share of healthcare issues, reporting like this has the potential of ruining a mature job seeker’s chance of finding meaningful employment. I urge employers to read the full study before accepting this brash overstatement as fact.

As retiring baby boomers begin to exit the workforce over the next five years and younger workers leave the state for more affordable places to live, organizations will need mature workers to provide the experience, loyalty, and vitality needed to stay competitive and productive.

Joan Cirillo
Executive Director
Operaton A.B.L.E.