employer mandate

One of the proposed changes in the health care insurance reform bills is the “employer mandate”, a requirement that employers of a certain size either provide health insurance to their employees or pay a fine.

If the employer provides insurance, it can be provided before taxes in most cases, providing a tax benefit (or, subsidy) to help the employee afford the share of premium.

If the employer doesn’t provide the insurance and pays the fine, the employees can then use the “insurance exchange” to buy their own coverage.

With the historic passage of a partisan health care insurance reform measure, the US Senate Majority Leader Sen.

Harry Reid kept his most recent promise to pass the bill by Christmas. Differences with the House version means that the bill will almost certainly require reconciliation and another 60-vote “filibuster override” in the Senate in 2010.

When the world’s largest retailer backs something like this, it’s hard to ignore.

Especially since they’ve had such a spotty record when it came to covering their 2 million employees in the past.

After the CBO projected major deficits, the plan was revised and recirculated.

And this comes just in the nick of time, as Daschle & Dole’s “state run healthcare” plan has made a major splash today.