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Thursday, March 2, 2006
Health Care Mandates Failing to Gain Traction With State Lawmakers
Chamber Scorecard Shows Bills Falling Flat in Several States
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Union-backed legislation imposing health care mandates on large employers has failed in several states, according to a legislative scorecard released today by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“State legislators on both sides of the aisle are taking a closer look at these special interest bills and realizing that they are more about politics than health care,” said Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber executive vice president for government affairs. “Despite massive spending and strong arm tactics by union leaders, these lawmakers are ignoring political pressure and instead looking for real solutions to the health care crisis.”
No other legislative body in the country has acted on employer mandate proposals since Maryland lawmakers overturned Governor Robert Ehrlich’s veto of the so-called “Wal-Mart bill” in January. That law requires larger employers to earmark a percentage of payroll spending for health care costs or divert an equal amount of money into the state’s fund for low-income individuals.
Similar legislation has stalled, been derailed, or voted down in Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Health care mandate legislation is pending before a number of other state legislatures.
The Chamber maintains that such a “one-size-fits-all” approach does nothing to control the skyrocketing costs of health insurance and fails to improve the quality of care. Instead, these proposals unfairly target a small segment of employers and could ultimately result in major job losses if enacted.
The U.S. Chamber is the world’s largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.
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