Last month, the Legislature appointed a conference committee to draft a proposal for mandatory employer-funded health care. The California Legislature is close to voting on a measure that could require California employers to offer health care coverage to employees and their dependents, at a yearly cost of at least $2500 per individual and $7000 per family. Employers will most likely be required to pay at least 80% of this cost. The debate in the conference committee centers around creating a "play or pay" system, where employers are mandated to provide health care for their employees and their dependents, or pay into a state run system. The conference committee is comprised of Senators John Burton (D-San Francisco), Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco), and Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley), and Assemblymembers Dario Frommer (D-Glendale), Rebecca Cohn (D-Saratoga), and Bob Pacheco (R-Walnut). All four Democrats on the committee authored mandatory health care legislation early this year, so it appears certain that the committee will approve some form of proposal and send it to the Asssembly and Senate floors. CRA has historically been, and remains, staunchly opposed to any employer mandate for health care. Analysis of the various proposals indicates that a health care mandate would cost an employer about $2500 per covered employee, and upwards of $7000 per employee with dependents. All in all, it is expected that a health care mandate will cost California employers at least $6 billion a year, at a time when workers’ compensation premiums, unemployment taxes, energy, and other business costs are at record highs. Help CRA defeat this mandate on your behalf. Contact Governor Davis at 916-445-2841 and express your opposition to ANY health care mandate. Remember, even though some proponents of a mandate have expressed a willingness to exempt some very small businesses and certain workers, they have made it clear that their ultimate goal is to cover ALL workers regardless of employer size or number of hours worked. California cannot afford other costly mandate on any business. Please call the Governor TODAY. And don't forget to contact your State Senator and Assemblymember as well. Click on the links below for a list of Senate and Assembly contact info. http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset7text.htm http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp Please forward this information to friends, business associates, and others who are interested in creating jobs for California, not in forcing more businesses to close their doors or head to Nevada and Arizona!! |
