A new piece of legislation in Colorado could force fees on low-wage, large-scale employers that don't offer employees health insurance, according to The Denver Post.
These companies — which have 250 or more workers — would be charged between 25 cents and one dollar for every hour worked by employees making $12 an hour or less, according to the report.
Combined with federal funding, the funds garnered through the process could add up to $80 to $130 million each year, supporters claim. The money would be placed in Colorado's Medicaid fund.
The legislation has already been highly disputed. "Unfortunately, too many people working for large companies have to get onto government assistance through Medicaid," said Rep. Crisanta Duran (D), the Colorado House majority leader, according to the report. "The rest of us are picking up the tab."
Rep. Brian DelGrosso (R), the House minority leader, disagreed. "I have not seen an official version of the bill, but from a draft it is not clear how this bill actually helps entry-level employees, and from what I heard about the press conference, there are a lot more unanswered questions about what the bill does," he said, according to the report.