Access to paid sick days could save $1 billion in medical costs annually according to a report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Currently, more than 44 million American workers do not have access to paid sick days, and more are unable to use time off to take care of sick children or other family members.
“Taking time off work to see a primary care doctor is common sense, but over 40 million Americans cannot do so without losing pay or their job,” says Kevin Miller, a senior research associate with IWPR. “Americans are paying over $1 billion each year in preventable emergency department costs because hard-working people without paid sick days are unable to get the preventative and early treatment they and their children need.”
