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· Will this proposal drive business out of the state? |
| This proposal will attract large businesses to Maryland that provide full health care coverage, like Giant Food, because they will no longer be subsidizing competitors that don’t. The vast majority of businesses, particularly large businesses, provide good health care coverage for their employees. |
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· Why are you targeting one company [WalMart] with this legislation? |
There is no targeting in this bill at all. This bill requires our state’s largest and most profitable companies to do their fair share on health care now and into the future. There are four companies in Maryland who meet the qualifications of having over 10,000 employees and would be impacted by this bill. The other three already meet and exceed the requirements stated in the legislation.
It’s not right for our constituents to shoulder the health care costs of huge, profitable, multi-state corporations. And every time an uninsured worker from these big companies goes to the ER and cannot pay, we all share those costs.
By the way, WalMart testified at the hearing that they spend somewhere around 7-8% payroll on health care. If that’s the truth, why are they worried about this bill?
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· Now you are talking about these big companies, tomorrow we will have a bill before us that taxes small businesses that don’t insure their workers. |
If a Senator supports slots now, does that mean he/she will likely support full-scale casinos? If he/she supports mandatory education for school children, does it mean they will support mandatory college education next year? If a Delegate supports the Flush Tax, does this mean that he/she will likely support an income tax increase? That's the slippery slope argument.
Lawmakers debate the merits of every bill. Only those bills that have the backing of the majority and the Governor’s signature usually become law. |
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· Why 8% of payroll? |
Most large employers pay 9% or more of wages on health insurance, according to various industry studies, including companies like Giant Food and Safeway.
During the hearing, all those companies currently with 10,000 or more employees testified that they either meet or exceed that limit.
WalMart testified that they currently spend 7-8%. |
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· Will employers that now spend more than 8 percent reduce their coverage? |
| No. Over 75% of all Maryland businesses provide health care coverage for many reasons. For example, they offer it to attract and keep employees, as part of a union contract, etc., even though there is presently no requirement to offer insurance at all. They will continue to offer more than the base requirement because it’s in their best business interest to do so – much like it is now. |
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· This is all about Giant vs. WalMart competing |
| Sure, Giant has something to gain by winning this proposal. So does every other business that currently helps their employees purchase health care. Every time an uninsured WalMart worker enrolls their child into state health care, we all pay. Every time an uninsured WalMart worker is admitted to a hospital and cannot pay, the costs get passed along to insuring companies in your district. This bill will make sure our state’s largest and most profitable companies don’t pass along their health care costs to you and me. |
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· If this is so business friendly, why did groups like the Retailers and Greater Washington Board of Trade withdraw their support? |
| Ahh, the power of friendship. Both groups once supported the proposal and then backtracked taking a neutral stance. I’m sure these groups wanted to make the Chamber feel better for opposing the proposal. However, I think the Board of Trade’s public comments in the Gazette, for example, speak for themselves. Let me quote from the January 14th edition. Allison Gold of the GWBOT said, “The payroll tax seemed to make perfect sense to our membership. Especially when you account for the fact that you are really talking about only two employers in Maryland, Wal-Mart and Giant, and Giant is effectively subsidizing Wal-Mart.” |
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· Is this popular? |
When this bill was being debated in the General Assembly, a Gonzales poll indicated that 80 percent of Marylanders supported the payroll tax. 65% of Republicans, too.
A recent poll in 3 swing districts found strong support as well.
Other states are interested in pursuing similar legislation and are watching the appeal process to determine how they can follow in Maryland's footsteps. |
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· Is this just another new government mandate? |
| No, our all-payer hospital system MANDATES that all businesses currently insuring their workers must pay for the costs of uncompensated hospital care. Insuring businesses are in effect subsidizing businesses that don’t provide full health care coverage for their employees. By requiring large businesses to pay their fair share of health care costs, our proposal simply makes the current mandate more fair. |
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· Why should I support this bill? |
| Our largest and most profitable companies in Maryland should not be passing along their health care costs to those with insurance and the taxpayer. |
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· Why was the Governor's Veto of the Fair Share Heatlh Care Law a bad policy decision? |
| According to Wal-Mart, one of the world's wealthiest companies that last year earned $10 billion in profits, their employees pay "nearly twice the national average" for their health care, and the company does not provide health insurance coverage to over half of their employees. In addition, 5% of Wal-Mart employees and 27% of their children are enrolled in Medicaid or other state health insurance programs for lower income people. |
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