A Democratic state lawmaker has drafted legislation that would require large Colorado businesses to fund health care for their employees – a move that opponents say unfairly targets Wal-Mart.
State Rep. Judy Solano of Brighton, the bill’s sponsor, said employees of big companies that do not provide health benefits often turn to state-funded programs such as Medicaid – forcing taxpayers to foot the bill.
“I personally don’t think it’s morally right for taxpayers to shoulder the burden,” she said.
But opponents have tagged the bill as “anti-Wal-Mart” and a payback to the labor unions that helped put Democrats back in control of the legislature in 2004.
“Frankly, labor-union leaders that have been unsuccessful at forcing our associates to unionize at a local level have devised a multimillion-dollar campaign to slow down Wal-Mart’s growth,” said Gray McGinnis, regional government-relations manager for Wal-Mart and former policy director for Democratic Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald.
Similar proposals are being floated in at least 30 states this year. Last month, Maryland was the first to enact such a law.
“These bills are nothing more than a political ploy and have nothing to do with health care,” McGinnis said.
Solano said the bill filed Wednesday would require businesses with 3,500 employees or more to put 11 percent of total wages toward health care.
For example, a company with a $1 million payroll would have to use $110,000 toward health care for employees or pay into the state Medicaid system.
Solano said the bill is not targeting Wal-Mart but is about “large corporations that make millions or billions in profits” and often pick up local tax breaks to locate in a community.
There are 20 to 25 companies with 3,500 employees operating in Colorado, Solano said, and about half are not providing health insurance. Caring for uninsured patients costs the average family $934 in increased insurance premiums annually, she said.
McGinnis said Wal-Mart has 18 health plans that cost part- time and full-time employees from $11 a month to $65 a month.
Carolyn Siegel, political director with the Colorado AFL-CIO, said the bill is saying “large employers need to pay their fair share of health-care costs” and “making sure that regular working folks are not really carrying the burden of very-high-profit employers.”
Wal-Mart employees, she said, show up in state-funded health care because with their low wages, they can’t afford the company’s health plans.
But if the bill passes, Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, said Wal-Mart prices may rise.
“The consumers that most often shop at Wal-Mart are the consumers that need the lowest prices,” he said. “This bill will ultimately victimize the working poor.”
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-820-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
