Massachusetts Universal Health Care Plan Attacked by Companies

[shugah]

Massachusetts Universal Health Care Plan Attacked by Companies

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Massachusetts lawmakers are trying to persuade employers to accept a universal health-coverage plan that they say will reduce costs for most firms in the state. Companies still aren't buying.

A proposal passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives would require firms with 10 or more employees to offer health insurance or submit to a payroll tax that would fund workers' care. The law would reduce premiums for companies that already provide health plans by eliminating their contribution to a free-care pool, said House Leader Sal DiMasi, the bill's lead proponent.

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States are trying to provide medical coverage for more residents without increasing the burden of Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for the poor that consumes about 21 percent of total state budgets. Massachusetts spends about $1.3 billion annually on the program and still about 500,000 residents have no health insurance, DiMasi said.

Companies such as Friendly Ice Cream Corp., based in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, have been slashing health benefits to cut costs. Friendly's, a restaurant chain with at least 14,000 workers, cut the maximum annual outpatient health benefit to $2,000 for some workers.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aK2_SCKrYz6c&refer=top_world_news