Bill to Require Largest Corporations to Pay Fair Share of Employee Health Insurance Passes House

DENVER, CO – The House today passed legislation to require Colorado’s largest employers to offer affordable healthcare or help cover the cost of employees’ Medicaid premiums.

“Colorado taxpayers should not have to subsidize health care costs for the nation’s largest corporations,” said Rep. Lisa Feret, D-Arvada. “Year after year, the largest corporate employers rake in record-breaking profits, yet 30-40 percent of their workforce relies on Medicaid for healthcare. This bill requires the largest corporate employers to help by offering affordable health insurance to employees or pay a fee to support Medicaid premiums.”

HB26-1327 passed the House by a vote of 35-30. HB26-1327 would offer large corporations the option to either provide health insurance coverage or pay a fee. The fee would be managed by the Large Employer Health-care Support Enterprise Board, consisting of a range of perspectives from companies, chambers, labor, healthcare providers, medicaid recipients and insurance experts. The funds will be used to protect Medicaid funding and boost access to employer-sponsored health care. 

Only employers with more than 500 Medicaid-enrolled employees must pay the fee. The bill exempts any disabled Medicaid members from being counted towards the fee.  An employer is exempt if it offers affordable health coverage to employees working more than 20 hours per week or more than 80 hours per month. Franchisees, nonprofits, public employers, or employers that include health care coverage in their collective bargaining agreements are also exempt. The enterprise board would determine the fee amount each employer must pay by reviewing relevant employer data. 

Revenue from this fee will be used to help fund Medicaid and reimburse large employers’ costs for workers who choose to buy into an employer-sponsored plan. An employer may request reimbursements from the enterprise fund to cover costs related to part-time employee healthcare. 

An estimated 37,200 Medicaid-enrolled workers in Colorado are employed by corporations that would be subject to the fee. This bill would set up penalties for large employers who fail to pay their fair share, evade the fee by way of reclassifying employees or offer alternative, affordable care options to their employees. 

Medicaid costs in Colorado have skyrocketed by nearly $1 billion a year while providing roughly the same services to roughly the same eligible population. Lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee were forced to close a $1.2 billion deficit in the state’s budget to meet its constitutionally required balanced budget. This includes a $270 million cut to Medicaid, in addition to the $90 million that was already cut from the program earlier this year.

The nation's largest corporations are on track to attain record profits and have an average of 30-40 percent of employees enrolled in Medicaid. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 75 percent of Medicaid recipients in Colorado are working.