Health Insurance Mandate Changes Reduce Fees for Small Businesses

San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano on Wednesday proposed changes to his employer health insurance mandate legislation that would charge businesses with fewer than 100 workers less than larger businesses, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Goodyear, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/16).

The amendment would establish a two-tiered fee system based on the average amount county governments pay for employee health insurance. Businesses with 100 or more workers would be required to pay 75% of that rate, or as much as $273 monthly per employee. Businesses with 20 to 100 employees would pay 50% of that rate, or $182 monthly per employee.

Under Ammiano's original flat-fee proposal, businesses would have paid up to $345 monthly per employee (Jouvenal, San Francisco Examiner, 2/16).

Ammiano also introduced an amendment that would adjust health insurance payments based on the number of hours an employee worked. Businesses that chose not to provide insurance would have to make monthly payments to a city-managed account that could be used to pay for health insurance coverage.

The Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee could vote on the amendments as early as March 1 (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/16).