Pay or Play: State Mandated Health Care Laws

By Russell L. Hirschhorn¹

It is no secret that, as a result of rising health care costs, the number of Americans without health care coverage continues to rise at alarming rates. According to some estimates, as many as 46 million Americans (nearly 16% of the total population) are uninsured. See http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf. Individuals who do not receive health care coverage through their employment and/or who cannot afford to purchase their own are forced to turn to Medicaid and other government-funded forms of health care, which, in turn, increases the burden on taxpayers to subsidize the costs of providing health care. In an effort to curb these costs, state and local governments have introduced, and in some cases passed, legislation that requires employers to contribute their "fair share" toward the costs of providing health care benefits. Currently, twentyeight states (see http