HARTFORD, Conn., April 22 (UPI) -- A bill requiring large employers in the state of Connecticut to provide health care benefits has been advanced by the legislature's finance committee.
The bill would require these employers to pay into a government fund if they cannot provide the benefits on their own, the Hartford Courant reported Friday.
The "pay-or-play" bill would impose a fee on all employers with at least 5,000 full-time employees who do not provide health benefits that match those provided to state employees. The fee would fund a new state-run health care program called HUSKY W.
Employers who already provide some health coverage could get a credit against the surcharge.
At least nine other states are considering similar laws because of a sharp decline in employer-provided benefits, the report said.
Critics say such plans inadequately address the underlying problem. "The longer-term solution is to figure out how to reduce health care costs, not how we get someone else to pay for it," said one consultant.
