Employers urged to develop health reform Help

 

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16 March 2009

NEWS; Pg 3

413 words


Employers invited to contribute to the development of health reform; Baucus sees play-or-pay "as a key component

Jerry Geisel



WASHINGTON-The chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate wants the business community to help draft a running play-or-pay system as part of comprehensive legislation to move the United States near universal coverage of health care, but it is getting a chilly reception from some employer groups.

Speaking last week in Washington before the annual meeting of the National Business Group on Health, Senator Max Baucus, D-Mont., Said he rejected a single payer, and in contrast, means s rely on the existing system based on employment.

`` My vision of the reform is a shared responsibility,''said Senator Baucus, noting that in an earlier position paper, it approved requiring employers to provide coverage or pay into a pool to provide premium health insurance subsidies for the uninsured, a Massachusetts took nearly three years who left the state of quasi-universal.

Senator Baucus acknowledged there are many details still to be addressed in fashioning a play-or-pay system. A key concern is the minimum level of benefits employers are required to offer to avoid paying into a pool. `` How does this standard relate to what employers are already providing?''He asked.

But the chairman of the Finance Committee has come to other conclusions about the employer mandate. He said that smaller businesses should be exempt, while federal tax credits should be available to partially offset the costs of premiums for other small businesses offering coverage.

Senator Baucus has asked the business community, which largely opposed the employer mandate in the past, keep an open mind until the legislation is in the process is complete.

`` I urge everyone here to suspend its decision until you can see the whole image. Wait until we can see all the pieces,''he said.

And he appealed to employers of entry. `` Help us to develop a. .. structure that works,''he said.

But some employer groups say the first priority of the reform legislation should be better control of health care costs.

`` It is unacceptable to speak of a warrant before doing anything to control costs. If nothing is done to control costs, you will not need a mandate,''said Mark Ugoretz, chairman of the ERISA Industry in Washington.

`` The most important thing is to reduce the cost,''said Paul Dennett, senior vice president of the American Benefits Council in Washington. Furthermore, once the mandate is to implement the requirements imposed on employers can creep up and become heavier, "he says.

Art credit: Senator Max Baucus, D-Mont., Said there are many details still to be decided in the overall structure of health care reform legislation.

20 March 2009

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