Re: Insurance Costs

Since virtually all our employees have families, it's the cost for family coverage. And that's a ball part number, I don't recall the exact figures. Several folks have suggested we look into coverage offered by the ASLRA, the shortline association, which we are doing. One of the problems is northern New Mexico/southern Colorado does not have a lot of medical options, nothing like Kaiser for example. Another reader of this BBS has suggested (back channel) an interesting self-insurance option to provide at least a modest level of coverage for everyone. While I have a personal prejudice in favor of some kind of basic universal coverage, the fact is medical coverage does not appear to be typical of the labor market in the Chama-Antonito areas. Sad but true. One advantage of being a non-profit, is that we do have an incentive to plow back "profits" (if any) into things like improving employee wages and benefits. But any progress will probably come slowly and only after we are certain that there is some profit to reinvest. Nobody is well served if we go bankrupt trying to be overly optimistic good guys.