Friday, February 10, 2006

State Watch

Colorado Bill Would Require Large Employers To Contribute Percentage of Payroll Toward Health Benefits

      A bill (HB 1316) that would require large Colorado employers to contribute 11% of their payrolls toward health benefits or pay the difference to the state's Medicaid program was introduced in the state Legislature on Wednesday, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports. The bill is "widely thought" to target Wal-Mart, which employs 25,380 people in Colorado, but it does not include specific names of affected companies, the Rocky Mountain News reports. The bill would affect companies with more than 3,500 workers, such as Centura Health, Safeway and Exempla Health, according to the Rocky Mountain News. Similar bills are being sponsored in 30 other states, according to the Rocky Mountain News (Brand, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 2/9).