Starbucks Participates in CNBC Health Care Summit
As health care costs become an increasingly significant and expensive issue for corporate America, Starbucks has taken a leadership position to raise awareness of the challenges that companies face in continuing to provide health care benefits for their employees while balancing the rising costs. U.S. businesses have faced double-digit increases in the cost of health care over the past several years and all reports show that they continue to rise.

Starbucks has long been committed to this issue and has been at the forefront of providing comprehensive, affordable health care to our predominantly qualified part-time, hourly workforce, as well as full-time partners (employees). In addition to being a leader in providing health care coverage to as many partners as possible, the Company has also engaged in advocacy activities to help make America’s health care system more efficient, reliable, transparent and affordable for everyone.

In May 2004, Starbucks proudly sponsored “Cover the Uninsured Week,” an annual campaign of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focused on expanding access to affordable, quality health care coverage. Starbucks founder and chairman Howard Schultz and other Starbucks leaders have also engaged federal policymakers in dialogue to discuss and offer assistance in finding a solution to this growing problem.

On September 14, 2005, Starbucks had the unique opportunity to be a champion of the cause at a different level. Starbucks leaders participated on the CNBC Washington Summit Health Care Panel along with prominent business leaders such as Jim Sinegal of Costco Wholesale and Ivan Seidenberg of Verizon Communications and elected officials from around the U.S., including Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Governor Mark Warner of Virginia, and Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa and Senator Max Baucus of Montana. The discussion focused on the skyrocketing costs of health care coverage and what the options are for businesses and government to work together. But more importantly, Starbucks also urged Congress to lead the effort to make the health care system more accountable and attainable for all Americans.

Howard Schultz also addressed the participants of the CNBC Washington Summit as keynote speaker at a gala dinner during the event, providing context on the situation from the business perspective and offering insight into the challenges that a company such as Starbucks has encountered in trying to provide comprehensive coverage to the most people possible.

Starbucks understands that the health care system in its current form cannot be sustained. As costs continue to rise at an increasing rate for companies, they also rise for employees at a rate that is not commensurate with increases in wages. Starbucks is committed to working with government and business toward the goal of broad access to health care as a long-term solution. For more information on Starbucks’ approach to health care, please read our Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Report.

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