Addendum
May 2005
Since we published the Ideas That Work tool kit, California's SB 2 was overturned on the November 2004 ballot by a razor-thin margin of 180,426 votes out of over 12.6 million cast (49.1% to 50.9%).
Despite this disappointment, our too lkit, which provides many details about California's SB 2, still provides a helpful framework for other states that are considering similar legislation that would require employers to either provide health insurance to their employees or contribute to a state fund to help the uninsured—an approach known as "pay-or-play."
As a recent article in The New York Times pointed out, many states are moving forward and considering similar legislation. In April 2005, the Maryland legislature passed a bill that would require employers with more than 10,000 in-state workers to either spend eight percent of their payroll on health benefits or pay the difference to a fund for the uninsured. Nine additional states have introduced similar bills.
We also wanted to also draw your attention to some new resources that may be helpful as you consider ways to expand employer-based coverage:
- HR Policy Association, Pressure Building at State Level to Compel Employers to Provide Health Insurance Coverage. This policy brief provides a chart outlining health care legislation in 30 states, including "pay or play" type approaches and approaches that grant states benefits and contracts on the basis of providing health care benefits. See http://www.hrpolicy.org/.
- The California HealthCare Foundation, SB 2 Retrospective. This web-based retrospective provides links to many materials on SB 2, including alternatives for pay-or-play design. See http://www.chcf.org/.
- Health Access California, Election Wrap-Up: Proposition 72. This document provides information about health care advocates' lessons learned from the Proposition 72 campaign. The Health Access California Web site also includes a helpful archive of information about Proposition 72. See http://www.health-access.org/.
