| 21 states have introduced some type
employer mandate legislation. On September 6, the California Legislature
passed S.B.
1414, the California Fair Share Health Care Act, however Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger vetoed this measure. In addition, two major city councils,
in Chicago and San Francisco, also approved employer-mandate proposals.
The San
Francisco ordinance has created a "pay or play" system in the city.
It will require all employers with more than 20 employees to provide coverage
to a set standard or pay the difference into a public fund. Employers
with 20 to 99 workers will have to pay the equivalent of $1.06 per hour
per worker on health coverage, and employers with more than 100 workers
will have to pay the coverage equivalent of $1.60 per hour per worker.
Employers that do not provide coverage would be required to pay into the
public fund on a graduated basis beginning in 2007. |
