The SFO nacho surcharge for employee health benefits

A charge for employee benefits on the bill.

At SFO airport, buy a plate of nachos and you’ll see an extra line item on your bill.

“SFO Employee Benefits”

This isn’t new, and lots of people get angry 😡 when they see it.

But what if we thought of it like NYC’s mandate that menus include calorie information. People were big mad about that too, but New Yorker’s body weight dropped as a result. https://lnkd.in/eXJ7PT4A.

One of the most memorable news stories I heard when I was a teen was that Ford was spending more on healthcare per car than steel.

Here’s a call to action from the Big Three calling for national healthcare saying just that—in 1993! https://lnkd.in/eqC7z6Y4 (I guess I’ve always been a benefits nerd at my core.)

Back to the nachos, people who work with benefits know that they’re the second biggest line item for most business. There’s always a cost for benefits built into the receipt.

Imagine if we all saw how much of our bill went to healthcare in every transaction.

Would we collectively do more to make a difference? Would we realize how much we pay as a hidden tax for healthcare everywhere we shop? Would we be like Mew Yorkers, and make better choices?

(No, I don’t think we should mandate it on all receipts. This is a thought experiment.)