WASHINGTON—All employers except small firms either would have to offer health insurance coverage to employees or be assessed a stiff penalty under a revamped health care reform bill put together by Democratic leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Under the latest proposal, unveiled Thursday, employers would be required to pay 60% of the health insurance premium. Those that did not would have to pay an annual assessment of $750 for each full-time employee not covered and $375 for each part-time employee not covered.
The so-called “play-or-pay” mandate would not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees.
The mandate, which had been expected, fills a blank left in the original proposal made by panel chairman Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. That proposal said the mandate was under discussion.
The other Senate panel—the Finance Committee—with jurisdiction over health care legislation has yet to produce a bill, while a reform bill backed by the chairmen of the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees would require employers to offer coverage or pay an assessment equal to 8% of pay for each employee not enrolled in a health care plan. Only “small firms,” which the measure does not define, would be excluded.
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