February 22, 2006

Fix our State’s Health Care System. Now!

Issue: America’s health care system is in crisis thanks to some big, profitable companies who refuse to pay their fair share of health care costs by covering their workers. Their employees often join the ranks of the uninsured. The cost of health care rises for everyone. And the responsible companies who cover their workers must compete with the companies who don’t pay their fair share. Millions of Americans are going without insurance, and health care costs are skyrocketing.

Background: The irresponsibility of some big businesses who don’t pay their fair share for health care coverage affects us all.

It raises health care costs for people with and without insurance. It places a burden on taxpayers who are forced to pay to cover the uninsured. And it makes it harder for responsible companies to do the right thing and cover their employees while their competitors cut costs by dropping health care coverage.

The Washington State Legislature in Washington has introduced a version of the Fair Share Health Care Act. House Bill 2517 (sponsored by Rep. Eileen Cody, D-Seattle) and Senate Bill 6356 (sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells, D-Seattle) would require large employers to pay their fair share of the cost of providing health care for their employees.

These bills would set a minimum standard for employers of 5,000 or more to invest at least 9% of their labor costs into employee health benefits, 7% for public employers and non-profits who can’t deduct health costs from their taxes. The handful of businesses that don’t meet this standard would have to pay the state a fee—the difference between that 9% and what they do spend on benefits—which would be used to cover some of the uninsured working adults in our state.

By making large employers pay their fair share of health care costs, the Fair Share Health Care Act will:

* Alleviate the burden on taxpayers who are stuck with the bill when big business doesn’t pay its fair share of health care costs.

* Level the playing field between companies that provide good jobs and benefits and those that don’t.

* Help Washington contain rising Medicaid costs.

The Fair Share Health Care Act is vital legislation that will make a real difference for Washington’s working families and responsible companies that do the right thing and pay their fair share.

Action: Urge your legislators and the Governor to support the Fair Share Health Care Act, HB 2517 and SB 6356. It is time for us to take action to end the crisis of America’s uninsured working families.

To contact Governor Gregoire, visit www.governor.wa.gov, or call her office at (360) 902-4111. To find your legislator’s contact information, visit www.leg.wa.gov. You can leave a message for all three of your legislators and the Governor by calling the Legislature’s Olympia hotline toll-free at 800.562.6000.

For more information, or to receive alerts about this and other issues that affect working families, contact the Washington State Labor Council at www.wslc.org.