01/26/2007
NFIB praised a federal appeals court's recent rejection of Maryland's Fair Share Health Care legislation, which would have required large companies to increase their spending on employee health benefits or be subject to a payroll tax.
"We are very pleased the court found Maryland's law to be in violation of ERISA," said Elizabeth Gaudio, senior executive counsel of NFIB's Legal Foundation. "This has always been about forcing small-business owners to provide health insurance. Unfortunately, the law did nothing to address the issue of access to affordable health care. Businesses that do not provide insurance do so for a reason; they can't afford to buy health insurance. Passing burdensome legislation that violates federal statutes is not going to fix the health-care crisis in Maryland or anywhere in this country."
Although it was targeted at large corporations, the legislation was a big step down the slippery slope that could eventually require small businesses to increase health-care spending as well. Supporters of the bill were clear in their intent to reduce the threshold, making the law apply to all employers--big and small. Working for the interest of small-business owners, NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case, brought by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, in support of rejecting the legislation on the basis that it violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Maryland's Fair Share Health Care legislation, often referred to as the "Wal-Mart Bill," would have required the state's businesses with at least 10,000 employees--full- or part-time--to pay 8 percent of their payroll on employee health care. Those who did not comply would be required to pay an 8 percent payroll tax.
While it is encouraging that the court struck down this law, the fact remains that small business is still not given the same accessibility, affordability and choice in the health-care marketplace as big business. NFIB will continue to work with small-business supporters in Congress to find a solution to the health-care crisis faced by the small-business community.
