HEALTH CARE REFORM: Chapter 3

Title III of this bill is Shared Responsibility. Subtitle A is about individual responsibility.

Section 301 states that individuals will have a responsibility to obtain coverage. Details to come later in Section 401 as an Internal Revenue Code Amendment.

Then we get right into Subtitle B, employer responsibility. Section 311 establishes that employers must offer each employee individual and family coverage under a QHBP.

Section 312 establishes the required employer contribution. The employer's required contribution towards a part-time employee is a proportion of the required contribution towards a full-time employee. Keep in mind that a proportion can be 0. Employer contributions cannot come as salary reductions.

Section 313 establishes the possibility of employer contributions in lieu of coverage. The contribution must equal 8% of the average wages paid by the employer during the period of enrollment. The money will be paid into the Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund and will not be applied against the employee's premium. "Small employers" contribute less, if anything. If the annual payroll of such employer for the preceding calendar year exceeds $350,000, but does not exceed $400,000, the contribution is 6%. If the payroll exceeds $300,000, but does not exceed $350,000, the contribution is 4%. If the payroll exceeds $250,000, but does not exceed $300,000, the contribution is 2%. If the payroll does not exceed $250,000, no contribution is required.

Section 321 amends ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Section 323 amends the Public Health Service Act. These items bring us to page 167 and the beginning of Title IV.

Title III is not long. Its substance is that employers would be required to offer health insurance coverage to their employers, or pay a contribution to the Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund. The idea is to get all employers to offer coverage, exempting the smallest businesses. Since this reform is working within the employment-based insurance model, it seems logical to mandate that individuals get coverage as well as encourage all employers to offer coverage.