WASHINGTON -- It's no surprise to many of us that the health care crisis is growing in states across the country.
Most legislators still refuse to acknowledge the scope of the crisis, and in the absence of real reform, health care costs continue to skyrocket, employer-based coverage is down and more and more people find themselves and their loved ones without health insurance.
Now the attention of the nation on this issue is focused on Maryland, which is poised to make history this year and answer a key question in the health care debate: Do large employers have a responsibility to their employees and to the communities in which they operate and, if so, does that include providing affordable, accessible health care for their employees?
Last year, the General Assembly passed simple, common-sense legislation that holds large corporations accountable for providing health care to their employees.
The Fair Share Health Care Act would require large, profitable corporations with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll toward their employees' health care costs or pay the difference of what they do provide into a state fund to defray the costs of uncompensated medical care to Maryland taxpayers.
Despite broad support for the measure among Marylanders, the bill was vetoed by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. The General Assembly has the opportunity to override the governor's veto and make Maryland the first state in the nation to pass such a law.
Nearly 20 states are planning to introduce similar legislation this year, with many of them rolling out their bills to coincide with the vote in Maryland.
It's no accident that Fair Share Health Care bills are popular with legislators and voters. For too long, some of the nation's largest, most profitable corporations have shifted the burden of health care costs for their employees onto the backs of taxpayers, who are struggling to pay for their own health care.
Often the employees of these corporations have significant difficulties obtaining health care coverage, either because the plans offered are not affordable or because they have so many restrictions that it is nearly impossible for employees to access the care they need.
When health care coverage plans fail, we all pay for it with non-emergency visits to emergency rooms, higher health insurance costs in our plans and increased spending for state programs.
