With estimates claiming hundreds of thousands of employed Californians will qualify for Medicaid in the coming years, state lawmakers are pushing a bill that would fine employers up to $6,000 for each full-time worker who qualifies and enrolls in Medicaid but is not offered company-sponsored insurance, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
About 250,000 California workers from large companies qualify for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, 44 percent of whom work for restaurants or retailers. Once the state expands eligibility criteria for Medi-Cal under a provision of the health law next year, as many as 1 million new people will enroll in the program, with an estimated 130,000 of them working for large companies, according to the report.
Advocates of the health law fear companies will find ways to skirt the health law's mandate for businesses of more than 50 full-time equivalent employees to offer health insurance or pay fines. The penalty, scalable up to $6,000 based on the number of hours each employee works, is derived from 110 percent of the average cost taxpayers pay to insure Medi-Cal enrollees who work more than eight hours per week, according to the report.
That state penalty on employers would be in addition to federal penalties for each employee working 30 or more hours per week who is not offered health insurance, although employees who qualify for Medicaid are exempt from federal fines.
The California Medical Association approves the plan, as the state has one of the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rates and the move would prompt employers to sponsor higher-reimbursing commercial insurance, according to the report.
Iowa Governor Flips, Passes Medicaid Expansion
CMS Innovation Center Director Dr. Rick Gilfillan to Step Down
About 250,000 California workers from large companies qualify for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, 44 percent of whom work for restaurants or retailers. Once the state expands eligibility criteria for Medi-Cal under a provision of the health law next year, as many as 1 million new people will enroll in the program, with an estimated 130,000 of them working for large companies, according to the report.
Advocates of the health law fear companies will find ways to skirt the health law's mandate for businesses of more than 50 full-time equivalent employees to offer health insurance or pay fines. The penalty, scalable up to $6,000 based on the number of hours each employee works, is derived from 110 percent of the average cost taxpayers pay to insure Medi-Cal enrollees who work more than eight hours per week, according to the report.
That state penalty on employers would be in addition to federal penalties for each employee working 30 or more hours per week who is not offered health insurance, although employees who qualify for Medicaid are exempt from federal fines.
The California Medical Association approves the plan, as the state has one of the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rates and the move would prompt employers to sponsor higher-reimbursing commercial insurance, according to the report.
More Articles on Medicaid:
OIG Finds Holes in CMS' Medicare Provider DataIowa Governor Flips, Passes Medicaid Expansion
CMS Innovation Center Director Dr. Rick Gilfillan to Step Down