Health Care Bill in Limbo, Approach Uncertain

Republican Scott Brown's win in the Massachusetts special election is reverberating through Congress. It appears the House lacks enough votes to pass the Senate version of the legislation, which means the Senate and House leaders must continue to work on a compromise of their two differing approaches. Democratic leaders appear unsure of the next move on reform, and are evaluating all of their options, which include passing a pared down bill using the partisan and controversial procedural motion known as reconciliation. AGC continues to monitor the developments and advocate for reform that is affordable and increases choice and competition in the marketplace. The current legislative proposals fail to do so. The provision causing the most consternation for the industry is the language in the Senate bill that explicitly targets the construction industry. The provision places mandates on the smallest of construction companies to provide coverage or pay penalties if they have more than five employees and a payroll that exceeds $250,000. This provision is unique to the construction industry, as companies in other industries with less than 50 employees are exempt from the mandate. AGC continues to meet with members of Congress and congressional staff to educate them on the impact of this provision, which has resulted in members on both sides of the aisle writing the Democratic leadership on removing this language from the final package. AGC's opposes the provision because: 1) few Senators were aware of it and it was never open to debate; 2) it was pushed by a small employer group representing less than 3 percent of construction companies; 3) it differs from other employee and payroll thresholds elsewhere in the bill, as well as other labor laws and regulations; and 4) the construction industry is currently experiencing the highest unemployment of any other industry, double the national rate. In addition to AGC's direct lobbying, AGC members have heeded the call by sending thousands of letters and making phone calls to their elected officials, and AGC has joined with other trade associations to advocate on removing the provision.