Fair Share Health Care in Other States

Other Fair Share Legislation Considered in State Legislatures:

Alaska
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 2,734 (as of January 2006).
  • Title of the Bill: HB 449—
    An act relating to requiring certain employers to provide health insurance or contribute to the fair share health care account for the purpose of supporting state medical assistance programs; and providing for an effective date.
  • Summary of Bill: The bill requires employers with more than 2,000 workers to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on employee health care or else pay into a fund for the uninsured.
  • Status: Introduced and referred to committees 02/13/06
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 26 Republicans, 14 Democrats
    Senate: 12 Republicans, 8 Democrats
  • Sponsors:
    Rep. Eric Croft, 24th Dist., Dem.
    Rep. David Guttenberg, 8th Dist., Dem.
    Rep. Beth Kerttula, 3rd Dist., Dem.
    Rep. Harry Crawford, 21st Dist., Dem.
  • Committees:
    Labor & Commerce
    Judiciary
    Finance

California
What People Are Saying

  • In California Alone, Taxpayers Spend $86 Million Annually For Wal-Mart Workers’ Health Care and Other Public Assistance.  A 2004 study conducted at the UC Berkeley Labor Center found that California taxpayers spend $86 million in public assistance for Wal-Mart employees.  That $86 million includes $32 million a year providing health care to Wal-Mart workers and $54 million a year in other forms of public assistance like school lunches and food stamps.  Moreover, the families of California Wal-Mart employees use an estimated 40% more in publicly funded health care assistance than the average for families of employees at other similar retail organizations.  [Dube and Jacobs, “Hidden Cost of Wal-Mart Jobs: Use of Safety Net Programs By Workers in California,” UC Berkeley Labor Center, 8/2/04]

  • “More Californians are uninsured than the populations of Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont combined,'' said Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco. ``Three-quarters of them are in working families whose employers do not offer them health insurance coverage. This bill will go a long way to closing this gap.” [San Jose Mercury News, 2/9/06]

Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 70,412 (as of January 2006).
  • Title of the Bill: Forthcoming…
  • Summary of Bill: The legislation would require employers of more than 10,000 to spend at least 8 percent of total wages on health benefits. Employers who fail to meet that number would contribute the difference to Medi-Cal, the state's health care provider of last resort.
  • Status: To be introduced shortly
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 48 Democrats, 32 Republicans
    Senate: 25 Democrats, 15 Republicans
  • Sponsors: Sen. Carole Migden, 3rd Dist., Dem., Majority Whip
  • Committee: Forthcoming…

Colorado
Critical Facts

Florida
What People Are Saying  

  • Wal-Mart Gets Millions in State Incentives From Florida; Has Most Medicaid Enrollees Of Any Statewide Company.   “Wal-Mart, which receives millions of dollars in state incentives to create jobs in Florida, has more employees and family members enrolled in Medicaid - 12,300 - than any company in the state.”  [St. Petersburg Times, 3/25/05]
  • “The [AFL-CIO] said it had data from the state that showed 4,900 Wal-Mart employees and their dependents were using state-financed health plans, including Medicaid and Florida Healthy Kids. Wal-Mart was only a little ahead of Publix, which had 4,129 and McDonald's with 3,500.” —Miami Herald 2/16/06

Critical Facts

Georgia
What People Are Saying  

  • State Health Program “Packed” With Children of Wal-Mart Employees; One In Four Receives State Health Assistance.  A survey of 2002 employment data found that Georgia’s children’s health care program is “packed with kids of Wal-Mart employees.”  In the state, “one of every four Wal-Mart employees has a child in the state's PeachCare health program…Over 10,000 of the 166,000 children covered by PeachCare have a parent working for Wal-Mart; no other employer in the state has a comparable share of its employees in the program.”  In fact, Wal-Mart’s PeachCare enrollment figure is fourteen times higher than the next largest Georgia company.  [Dollars & Sense, 1/1/05; Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2/27/04]
  • "This is not about bashing Wal-Mart," said State Sen. Steen Miles (D-Decatur), sponsor of the Senate bill. "It's about children, affordable health care and unfair burdens on the taxpayers of Georgia."
  • Miles and Rep. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta), sponsor of an identical House bill, cited a 2002 state survey that found 10,261 children covered by Georgia's PeachCare for Kids health insurance had a parent working for Wal-Mart. The survey was disclosed in a 2004 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. —Atlanta Constitution-Journal 2/14/06

Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 52,728 (as of January 2006).
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 99 Republicans, 80 Democrats
    Senate: 34 Republicans, 22 Democrats
  • Summary of House and Senate Bills: All companies with 10,000 or more workers in Georgia to spend at least 8 percent of payroll on employee medical benefits, or pay the difference to the state, which funds public health insurance programs.
  • Title of House and Senate Bills: A bill to be entitled an Act to amend Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to medical assistance generally, so as to require employers to annually report to the commissioner of community health information regarding employees and health care coverage; to provide for definitions; to provide for funds to be paid to the state by employers that do not spend a certain percentage of wages on health care benefits for their employees; to provide for penalties; to provide for powers, duties, and authority of the commissioner of community health; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
  • Status of bills: Introduced and referred in the Senate 2/13/06; Introduced 2/14/06 in the House

  • House Bill Number: HB 1339
  • House Sponsors:
    Nan Orrock, 58th Dist.
    Charles Jenkins,  8th Dist.
    Stan Watson, 91st Dist.
    DuBose Porter, 143rd Dist.
    Timothy Bearden, 68th Dist.
    Ron Borders, 175th Dist.
  • House Committee: Committee on Insurance
  • Senate Bill Number: SB 6356
  • Senate Sponsors:
    Steen Miles, 43rd Dist.
    Emanuel Jones, 10th Dist.
  • Senate Committee: Insurance and Labor

Kansas
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 19,411 (as of January 2006).
  • Title: HB 2579—
    An act concerning labor and employment; relating to employers’ health care costs; establishing the fair share health care fund; penalties.
  • Threshold: 10,000 employees
  • Percentage: 8 profit, 6 non-profit
  • Status: Introduced 1/9/06; 1/10/06 posted to committee
  • Makeup of Legislature:
    House: 83 Republicans, 42 Democrats
    Senate 30 Republicans, 10 Democrats
  • Sponsor: Rep. Geraldine Flaharty, 98th Dist., Dem.
  • Committee: Commerce & Labor (Partial Link)

Kentucky
Critical Facts

Michigan
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 29,233 (as of January 2006).
  • Facts describing Wal-Mart’s use of state’s public health programs…
  • Title: SB 734—
    A bill to provide for the collection and administration of a fee payable by certain employers; to provide for the disposition of the proceeds of the fee; to require certain employers to submit information; to create a fund in the state treasury; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments and officers; and to provide civil penalties.
  • Summary: Businesses with more than 10,000 employees will be required to spend at least 8 percent of total worker earnings on healthcare. Non-profit companies will be required to spend at least 6 percent.
  • Status: Introduced 9/06/05 and posted to committee
  • Makeup of Legislature:
    House 58 Republicans, 52 Democrats
    Senate 22 Republicans, 16 Democrats
  • Sponsors:
    Sen. Raymond E. Basham (Primary sponsor)
    Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman
    Sen. Gilda Jacobs
    Sen. Samuel Thomas III
    Sen. Martha Scott
    Sen. Liz Brater
    Sen. Hansen Clarke
  • Committee: Commerce & Labor

Minnesota
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 18,381 (as of January 2006).
  • Title: HF 74—
    Large employer fair share health care fund established, payments required, assets regulated, rulemaking authorized, and penalties provided.
  • Summary: Businesses with more than 10,000 employees will be required to spend at least 8 percent of total worker earnings on healthcare. Non-profit companies will be required to spend at least 6 percent.
  • Status: Introduced 6/13/05; posted to committee 6/20/05; passed Jobs, Energy and Community Development committee 03/14/06
  • Makeup of Legislature:
    House 68 Republicans, 66 Democrats
    Senate 36 Democrats, 29 Republicans
  • Sponsors:
    Rep. Ron Latz, Dist. 44B, DFL Party
    Rep. Sandra Peterson, Dist. 45A, DFL Party
  • Committee: Rules & Legislative Administration; Jobs, Energy and Community Development

Mississippi
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 25,884 (as of January 2006).
  • Title: SB 2684
  • Summary: Businesses with more than 10,000 employees will be required to spend at least 8 percent of total worker earnings on healthcare. Non-profit companies will be required to spend at least 6 percent.
  • Status: Introduced 1/16/06; posted to committee
  • Makeup of Legislature:
    House 75 Democrats, 47 Republicans
    Senate 28 Democrats, 24 Republicans
  • Sponsors:
    Sen. Deborah Dawkins, 48th Dist., Dem.
    Sen. Gloria Chisholm Williamson, 18th Dist., Dem.
  • Committees:
    Public Health & Welfare
    Judiciary

New Jersey
Critical Facts

New York
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 35,088 (as of May 2006).
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 45 Republicans, 105 Democrats
    Senate: 35 Republicans, 27 Democrats
  • Title of the Bill: A10583—
    An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing a fair share for health care assessment on large employers and providing for a credit for employers that pay a fair share of their employees' health care costs and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the fair share for health care fund.
  • Summary of Bill: The Fair Share for Health Care Act will ensure that large employers pay their fair share of the rowing taxpayer costs for public health care programs by requiring them to pay a health care assessment to the state. The legislation recognizes large employers that help pay for their health care for employees and their families by allowing them to deduct the cost of such expenditures from the assessment.
  • Status: 04/04/2006 referred to health
  • Sponsors:
    Gottfried, Richard N.
    Grannis, Alexander
    Peralta, José
    Cahill, Kevin A.
    DelMonte, Francine
    DiNapoli, Thomas F.
    Gordon, Diane
    Lifton, Barbara
    Peoples, Cystal D.
    Pretlow, J. Gary
    Rivera, Peter M.
    Tonko, Paul D.
    Towns, Darryl C.
    Ramos, Phil
  • Committees:
    Health
  • Title of the Bill: S07090—
    An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing a fair share for health care assessment on large employers and providing for a credit for employers that pay a fair share of their employees' health care costs and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the fair share for health care fund.
  • Summary of Bill: Establishes the fair share for health care act; provides that a large employer fair share assessment shall be based on the cost of providing care to a single adult and one dependent under the state`s family health plus and child health plus programs; provides large employers continuing to pay for employees' health care costs to be allowed to deduct from the assessment the cost of any health care-related expenditures; sets forth definitions; creates the fair share health care fund with monies to be used to subsidize health care coverage to covered employees of covered employers who do not have health care benefits from any other source.
  • Status: Referred to Health committee 03/21/2006
  • Sponsors:
    Spano, Nick
    Wright, Jim
  • Committees:
    Health

Ohio
What People Are Saying

  • Concerns Mounting That State Aid Is Becoming A Crutch for Wal-Mart.  Although neither the state nor Wal-Mart has released employee data in Ohio, John Begala of the Cleveland Center for Community Solutions cited concerns from other states and recently told state lawmakers “the state-federal Medicaid health insurance program had become ‘Wal-Mart's health care program.’”  [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/17/05]

Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 48,450 (as of January 2006).
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 61 Republicans, 38 Democrats
    Senate: 22 Republicans, 11 Democrats
  • Summary of House and Senate Bills: Requires an employer with 30,000 or more employees in Ohio, including a nonprofit employer but excluding a government employer, to make payments to the Director of Job and Family Services if it does not incur specified annual health insurance costs on behalf of its employees. Requires an employer with 30,000 or more employees in Ohio, including a nonprofit employer but excluding a government employer, to file an annual report with the Director specifying certain information. Requires the Director to file an annual written report with the Governor and legislative leaders identifying employers subject to the bill and summarizing information that employers include in reports filed pursuant to the bill. Creates the Fair Share Health Care Fund to supplement the state's share of Medicaid costs.
  • Title of House Bill: HB 471
  • House Sponsors:
    Rep. Jennifer Garrison, 93rd Dist., Dem.
    Rep. William J. Healy, 52nd Dist., Dem.

  • Title of Senate Bill: SB 258
  • Senate Sponsors:
    Sen. Robert F. Hagan, 33rd Dist., Dem. , Assistant Minority Leader
    Sen. Tom Roberts, 5th Dist., Dem.
    Sen. Daniel R. Brady, 23rd Dist., Dem., Assistant Minority Leader
    Sen. C.J. Prentiss, 21st Dist., Dem., Minority Leader

Oklahoma
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 30,353 (as of January 2006).
  • Title of the Bill: HB 2678
  • Summary of Bill: An Act relating to poor persons; enacting the Fair Share Health Care Fund Act; establishing the Fair Share Health Care Fund and procedures related thereto; defining terms; requiring certain employers to submit certain forms to the Commissioner of Labor; requiring employers to make payments under certain circumstances; providing for penalties; requiring certain reports; requiring certain actions by the Commissioner of Labor; defining term; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.
  • Status: Introduced 01/18/06
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 58 Republicans, 39 Democrats
    Senate: 16 Republicans, 24 Democrats
  • Sponsors: Rep. Darrell Gilbert, 72nd Dist., Dem.
  • Committee: Forthcoming…

Oregon
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 10,481 (as of January 2006).
  • Summary: The yet un-proposed bill would require companies with more than 5,000 workers in Washington to devote 9 percent of their payroll spending to health benefits.
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 33 Republicans, 27 Democrats
    Senate: 18 Democrats, 12 Republicans

Rhode Island
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 2,117 (as of January 2006).
  • Title of the Bill: H 6917
    An Act Relating to State Affairs and Government – Fair Share Health Care Fund
  • Summary of Bill: This act would establish the Fair Share Health Care Fund and would require employers of 1,000 employees or more to file annual reports relating to the portion of total employees health care costs paid by the employer. This act would also require large employers to pay into the fund the difference between eight percent (8%) of the total payroll and the amount the employer actually spent on employee health care insurance.
  • Status: Introduced and referred to committee 1/25/06
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 59 Democrats, 16 Republicans
    Senate: 33 Democrats, 5 Republicans
  • Sponsors:
    Rep. Amy G. Rice, 72nd Dist., Dem.
    Rep. Arthur Handy, 18th Dist., Dem.
    Rep. Raymond J. Sullivan, Jr., 29th Dist., Dem.
    Rep. Joseph L. Faria, 56th Dist., Dem.
    Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, 12th Dist., Dem., Deputy Majority Leader
  • Committee: House Finance

Tennessee
What People Are Saying  

  • Nearly One in Four of Wal-Mart Workers Receive Tennessee Health Insurance.  Wal-Mart is Tennessee’s largest private employer and has the most enrollees in TennCare – 9,617 of its 37,000 employees, nearly 25 percent of its workforce – according to a state survey.  The health program costs Tennessee $8.7 billion.  A Wal-Mart spokesperson, Dan Fogelman, expressed ignorance: “If there are some of our associates who have decided for some reason not to participate in our health plan, we don't know the reason.”  Michael Drescher, TennCare spokesperson, remarked, “A lot of people have access to insurance, but they can't afford it. The state can't continue to keep bearing that cost.”  [Chattanooga Free Press, 1/20/05, Knoxville News-Sentinel, 1/30/05]
  • Rep. Mike Turner, D-Nashville, said he will propose a bill to encourage large employers to offer affordable health insurance to their workers. Turner said the bill is identical to one proposed in Maryland that would require companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of its payroll on health care benefits or pay more into the state Medicaid fund.  [Associated Press 2/906]

Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 39,401 (as of January 2006).
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 61 Republicans, 38 Democrats
    Senate: 22 Republicans, 11 Democrats

Virginia
Critical Facts

  • Wal-Mart employees: 38,570 (as of January 2006).
  • Title of the Bill: HB 258—
    Health Care Funding Act
  • Summary of Bill: Requires every employer with more than 10,000 employees to report annually to the Commissioner of Labor and Industry the amount spent, and the percentage of its payroll that was spent, on health insurance costs for its employees. If the percentage of payroll spent on health insurance costs is less than the statewide average of the percent of wages that was spent on employee health insurance costs by all employers in the Commonwealth with more than 250 employees, the employer is required to pay an amount equal to the difference between what the covered employer spends for health insurance costs and an amount equal to the required percent of the total wages it paid to its employees. The revenue from the assessment is paid in to the Virginia Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan Trust Fund. Violations are subject to civil penalties.
  • Status: Filed and referred to committee 1/04/06
  • Party Split of the Legislature:
    House: 58 Republicans, 39 Democrats
    Senate: 16 Republicans, 24 Democrats
  • Sponsors:
    Del. Jeion A. Ward, 92nd Dist., Dem.
  • Committee: Commerce and Labor

Source for number of Wal-Mart associates is Walmartfacts.com.

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