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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCalifornia bill would fine big firms whose workers get Medi-Cal (CA's version of Medicare)
By Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times, June 1, 2013
For years, politicians and labor unions have pilloried Wal-Mart and other large employers for paying workers so little that many qualify for government health insurance at taxpayers' expense.
Now critics fear the public will get stuck with an even bigger tab as California and other states expand Medicaid as part of the federal healthcare law. That has California lawmakers taking aim at the world's largest retailer and other big firms.
Legislators, backed by unions, consumer groups and doctors, are calling for fines that could reach about $6,000 per full-time employee who ends up on Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program for the poor and others. They say this would eliminate a loophole in the Affordable Care Act that encourages large retailers and restaurant chains to dump hourly workers onto the government dole because there's currently no penalty for doing so.
The outcome of this California battle could have national implications as other cash-strapped states search for ways to shore up safety-net programs that are bound to be stretched by a massive healthcare expansion.
"There are concerns that employers will be gaming this new system and taking less and less responsibility for their workers," said Sonya Schwartz, program director at the National Academy for State Health Policy. "This may make employers think twice."
...
With the idea gaining momentum, retailers and business groups are pushing back. They say California's move would set a dangerous precedent and result in fewer jobs at a time when many people are still struggling to find work.
"It's one of the worst job-killer bills I've seen in my 20 years in Sacramento, and that says a lot," said Bill Dombrowski, chief executive of the California Retailers Assn. "The unions are fixated on Wal-Mart, but that's not the issue here. It's a monster project to implement the Affordable Care Act, and having this thrown on top is not helpful."
full: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-employer-health-fine-20130601,0,2838885,full.story
(Try this link if the real link doesn't work on mobile: http://archive.is/9iT4T)
Mr. Dombrowski, advocate of "privatizing the profits, socializing the costs." Yes, there is such a thing as WAL-FARE.
LuvNewcastle
(16,900 posts)"There are a lot of responsible employers who provide healthcare coverage and pay middle-class wages," said Sara Flocks, public policy coordinator for the California Labor Federation. "They have to compete against Wal-Mart slashing wages and slashing hours. This is a way to level the playing field."
I'd like to see someone do a study about how much Walmart's low prices cost the U.S. in wage losses and subsidies for underpaid employees. I would do it myself, but I'm not very good with figures. Every state needs to pass a law like this one proposed in California.
Low wages from these large corporations have been breaking the treasury for years, and it's time for them to pay some of it back. Maybe more reputable businesses will be able to compete with them and we'll see more jobs with better pay.
Demit
(11,238 posts)Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)K & R for deadbeat employers.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)California is absolutely rocking these days. It's becoming a model, liberal state. I am pleased and deeply impressed.
-Laelth
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)Stealth subsides are costing us all a ton of taxpayer funds that should go elsewhere.
Companies that pay shit wages, knowing that their employees can always get state assistance are cheating us all.
We all know how it feels to loan someone money , who says they need it for keeping their utilities on, only to see them a week later, driving a new car they used your money to make the down payment for.. It's the same thing here.. We are having to take care of the richest of the rich who scrimp on wages so they can keep all that extra for themselves. They keep their workforce poor and desperate while they live like kings.. & we all take care of their workers..
CanonRay
(14,283 posts)when the companies get fined? I like the idea of making the companies pay back the government, but I'm concerned about the blowback.
forthemiddle
(1,393 posts)So now MORE companies will reduce hours to 29 hours a week to comply with the law? How is this a help?
Now not only will the employee not have health insurance, they will only have a part time job.
We are seeing this already all over the country, now California will increase this loophole.
dsc
(52,212 posts)If employing a person 30 hours a week opens up a 6000 fine then 29 hours would be 5800.
Omaha Steve
(100,450 posts)K&R!!!