AFL-CIO backs bills requiring health benefits

Physician groups haven't supported these efforts on "pay or play" plans so far.

By Amy Snow Landa, AMNews correspondent. Jan. 23, 2006.

As state legislatures reconvene this month, the AFL-CIO and its member unions are preparing to battle Wal-Mart in state capitols over the issue of employee health benefits.

The AFL-CIO has announced plans to advocate in at least 30 states this year for legislation dubbed the "Fair Share Health Care Act," which would require large employers to contribute a certain percentage of their payrolls to health benefits.

In some states bills still are being drafted, but the minimum percentage generally ranges between 8% and 11% for private companies and slightly less for nonprofit employers.

Under the proposed legislation, employers that fall short would have to pay the difference into a state health care fund that subsidizes coverage for uninsured workers and their families.

The goal is to force Wal-Mart and other large employers to pay their "fair share" of workers' health care costs, said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who announced the campaign Jan. 5. As the largest private employer in many states, Wal-Mart would be the company most affected by the proposed legislation.

According to Sweeney, the retail giant has shirked its responsibility to provide affordable health insurance to its 1.2 million workers. This has forced Medicaid and other state-subsidized health programs to pick up the tab. "Why should a company like Wal-Mart, which made $10 billion last year alone, be able to force taxpayers to foot the bill for their health care costs?" Sweeney said.