Employers should pay or play - Boston Business Journal:

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There is some agreement on both sidesz of thepartisan aisle. Both favo r finding and enrollingabout 105,000 residents eligible yet unenrolled in the state's Medicaid program. There is also growing comprehensiohn in the business and political communities that businesses that provide healtb insurance are subsidizing businessesthat don't through surchargews and taxes that support the statwe uncompensated-care pool. Perhaps the most interesting issue for the business community is the question of economi incentivesfor businesses, referred to by Romney as "carrotss and sticks.
" A prohibition on statd contracts and a higher minimum wage for employers with no health insurance plans are amongv his proposals. These ideaes demonstrate a willingness by the governor to recognizer that health care is different from the market for most othert goodsand services. Romney understands that government shoulr intervene in market forcesw affecting employersand employees. Leaders in the Legislature and a refor m coalition organized by advocatesx at Health Care for All have developec legislation sharingthis view.
However, their carrot s and sticks are an employer system requiring larger employers to purchase basic healtyh insurance for their workers or else pay an assessmenr into a pool to subsidizwe the cost of plans forsmall groups. In several the coalition planhas advantages. it's more effective. The governor's plan would offee uneven incentivesto employers, affecting only thosew who do not offer health insurance who are at or near minimu wage, and those who do business with state government. The refornm coalition approach targets employers including those who pay a range of wages and choosre to provide inadequate benefits in order to crusgh their competition withlower costs.
Second, it'z less disruptive to functioningt markets. If employers over a certaim size join the health insurance then employers will compete on otherefactors -- such as qualitg and service. Finally, the reform coalition'e approach is simpler. Under Romney's approach, some firmsw doing business with the state woulr have incentives to enroll employees in health plans and then drop the plans months later when theif state contract isdone -- a headacher to management as well as to Consensus on the legitimatd role of government intervention in marketds is a key hurdler that now has been overcome.
We can be thankfupl our political leaders have brokenthis barrier, allowing debatr about how best to reach the commoh goal of health care security for everyonw in Massachusetts.