Requires employers with 100 or more employees (large employers) to: (1) offer employees the opportunity to enroll in a qualifying health benefit plan that provides family coverage; (2) contribute at least 75 percent of the plan premium; and (3) withhold the employee's share from wages. Applies such requirements to smaller employers that perform a majority of their services for a single large employer. Considers contract, leased, and temporary workers as employees. Provides a formula for determining an alternative minimum employer contribution for plan coverage of part-time workers (who work less than 30 but no less than ten hours per week).
Requires such qualifying health plans to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent or greater in value than those under the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Standard Plan under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program as of January 1, 2002.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require health insurance issuers to ensure that any employee health insurance coverage they offer to employers complies with requirements of title II of FLSA.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2639 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2639
To provide health benefits for workers and their families.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 18, 2002
Mr. Kennedy (for himself and Mr. Corzine) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide health benefits for workers and their families.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Health Care for Working Families
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) every industrialized country in the world except the
United States guarantees the fundamental right to health care
to all its citizens;
(2) more than 40,000,000 Americans are without health
insurance coverage;
(3) the number of uninsured Americans is growing;
(4) the vast majority of uninsured Americans are workers or
dependents of workers;
(5) lack of health insurance is a major cause of poor
access to health care, delayed or substandard treatment, and
unnecessary death;
(6) for more than half a century, Congress has enacted laws
to ensure that work is appropriately rewarded, including laws
establishing a minimum wage and a 40 hour work week, laws
ensuring safe and healthy working conditions, and laws
requiring employers to contribute to the cost of retirement
security through Social Security and Medicare;
(7) the vast majority of large employers provide health
insurance coverage to their employees and the dependents of
those employees; and
(8) the minority of large employers that do not provide
such coverage should be expected to assume this social
responsibility.
SEC. 3. HEALTH BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
(a) In General.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
title:
``TITLE II--HEALTH BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES
``SEC. 201. HEALTH BENEFITS.
``(a) Offer to Enroll.--
``(1) In general.--Each large employer, in accordance with
this title, shall offer to each of its employees the
opportunity to enroll in a qualifying health benefit plan that
provides coverage for the employee and the family of the
employee.
``(2) Qualifying health benefit plan.--For purposes of this
title, the term `qualifying health benefit plan' means a plan
that provides benefits for health care items and services that
are actuarily equivalent or greater in value than the benefits
offered as of January 1, 2002 under the Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Standard Plan provided under the Federal Employees Health
Benefit Program under chapter 89 of title 5, United States
Code.
``(b) Contribution and Withholding.--
``(1) In general.--Each large employer, in accordance with
this title, shall--
``(A) contribute to the cost of any qualifying
health benefit plan offered to and selected by its
employees under subsection (a); and
``(B) withhold from the wages of an employee, the
employee share of the premium assessed for coverage
under the qualifying health benefit plan (if any)
selected by the employee.
``(2) Required contribution.--Except as provided in
paragraphs (3) and (4), the portion of the total premium to be
paid by a large employer under paragraph (1)(A) shall not be
less than 75 percent of such total premium.
``(3) Part-time employees.--With respect to an employee who
works less than 30 hours per week, the employer contribution
required under paragraph (2) shall be equal to the product of--
``(A) the contribution required under paragraph
(2); and
``(B) the ratio of number of hours worker by the
employee in a typical week to 30 hours.
``(4) Limitation.--No employer contribution shall be
required under this subsection with respect to an employer who
works less than 10 hours per week.
``(c) Large Employers.--
``(1) In general.--The provisions of this title shall only
apply to large employers.
``(2) Definition.--
``(A) In general.--As used in paragraph (1), the
term `large employer' means, with respect to a calendar
year and plan year, an employer that employed an
average of at least 100 full-time employees on business
days during the preceding calendar year and who employs
not less than 100 employees on the first day of the
plan year.
``(B) Exception.--The provisions of this title
shall apply with respect to an employer that is not a
large employer under subparagraph (A) if the majority
of the services performed by such employer consist of
services performed on behalf of a single large
employer.
``(3) Contract, temporary, and leased workers.--For
purposes of this title, a contract, temporary, or leased worker
of an employer shall be considered to be an employee of the
employer, except that a temporary worker provided by a
temporary employment firm shall not be required to be covered
by a large employer if coverage meeting the standards of this title is
provided to the worker by the temporary employment firm.
``SEC. 202. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO TIMING OF COVERAGE AND
WITHHOLDING.
``(a) Date of Initial Coverage.--In the case of an employee
enrolled under a qualifying health benefit plan provided by a large
employer, the coverage under the plan must begin not later than 30 days
after the day on which the employee first performs an hour of service
as an employee of that employer.
``(b) Withholding Permitted.--No provision of State law shall
prevent an employer of an employee enrolled under a qualifying health
benefit plan established under this title from withholding the amount
of any premium due by the employee from the payroll of the employee.
``SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT.
``(a) Civil Money Penalty Against Private Employers.--The
provisions of section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974--
``(1) relating to the commencement of civil actions by the
Secretary under subsection (a) of such section;
``(2) relating to civil money penalties under subsection
(c)(2) of such section; and
``(3) relating to the procedures for assessing, collecting
and the judicial review of such civil money penalties;
shall apply with respect to any large employer that does not comply
with this title.
``(b) Injunctive Relief.--The provisions of section 17 shall apply
with respect to violations of this title.
``SEC. 204. PREEMPTION.
``Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent a State from
establishing, implementing, or continuing in effect standards and
requirements relating to employer provided health insurance coverage
unless such standards and requirements prevent the application of a
requirements of this title.
``SEC. 205. DEFINITION AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
``(a) Definition.--In this title the terms `family' and `family
member' mean, with respect to an employee, the spouse and children
(including adopted children) of the employee and any other individual
covered by the employer under family plan coverage.
``(b) Effective Date.--This title shall apply with respect to
employers on the first day of the first plan year beginning on or after
January 1, 2003.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by
striking out the first section and inserting in lieu thereof
the following:
``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
``This Act may be cited as the `Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938'.
``TITLE I--WAGES AND HOURS''.
(2) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by
striking out ``this Act'' each place it occurs and inserting in
lieu thereof ``this title''.
(3) Section 17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 217) is amended by inserting ``or violations of title
II'' before the period.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.
Title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 202 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 249. REQUIREMENT FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE.
``A health insurance issuer (as defined in section 2791(a)) that
offers health insurance coverage (as defined in section 2791(a)) to an
employer on behalf of the employees of such employer shall ensure that
such coverage complies with the requirements of title II of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5707-5708)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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