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Senate health bill includes ASA amendment

December 28, 2009
Staffing Industry Analysts North American Daily News

The healthcare reform bill approved by the U.S. Senate Thursday includes an amendment championed by the American Staffing Association that helps define how mandated fees for employers would be calculated.

"We consider it a fairly significant clarification; it should mitigate the cost of this to most firms," said ASA General Counsel Ed Lenz. "Although there's going to be considerable cost in any event."

Under the bill:
• Businesses with more than 50 employees that do not offer insurance would pay $750 per year, pro-rated by month, per full-time employee. The only circumstance in which the fee would not apply would be if none of the firm's employees receive a tax subsidy to buy health insurance. A full-time worker is defined as one who works at least 30 hours per week.
• For firms that do offer health insurance there may still be a fee. If the firm employs a worker who still gets a tax subsidy to buy insurance, the firm would have to pay $3,000 per subsidized worker or alternatively $750 per all full-time employees -- whichever is less. This could impact firms that offer healthcare to internal staff but not temporary workers, according to the ASA.

The amendment championed by the ASA clarifies that a full-time worker is a person who works an average of 30 hours per week per month. That means a staffing firm would only pay one-twelfth of $750 for each employee who works an average of 30 hours per week throughout an entire month.

Lenz said the clarification ensures that staffing firms won't pay a full month's fee for less than a full month's work. The bill prior to the amendment didn't include a provision for pro-rating -- an employee might have worked just one week and the staffing firm would have been charged for a full month

The Senate healthcare reform bill must still be reconciled with the House version -- which called for a more onerous employer mandate of 8% of payroll.

Lenz said healthcare reform is still a ways away from being a done deal, but he doesn't believe the House's 8% mandate will be included in a final bill.