May 1, 2024
Nominees for AIM Board of Directors
The Governance and Nominating Committee of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts Board of Directors has put forward the…
Read MorePosted on August 6, 2012
Massachusetts lawmakers sent a flurry of mostly positive business-related legislation to Governor Deval Patrick last week to go with the initiative to control health insurance costs.
The House and Senate passed an energy bill, an economic development bill and a compromise “right to repair” bill in the final hours of formal legislative sessions Tuesday night. Legislators also advanced two measures opposed by AIM – one moving private child care providers into a union and an ambulance payment bill that would add $80 million in health care costs to businesses and consumers.
The governor signed the energy, economic development and child care measures last week. He is expected to approve the health care bill this morning.
Also significant were the bills that the Legislature elected not to approve, including a measure that would have mandated that employers provide seven sick days to workers. Lawmakers also declined to repeal or restrict non-compete agreements that protect the intellectual property of employers.
“The Legislature and Governor Patrick placed a premium on maintaining a business climate that encourages employers to create jobs,” said John Regan, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs for AIM.
“We do not agree on everything, but acknowledge that the governor and Legislature have balanced the budget without increasing taxes and wisely concentrated on issues that will help our unemployed fellow citizens get back to work.”
The flow of bills from the Legislature to the governor did not stop when formal sessions ended at midnight Tuesday. Lawmakers working during informal sessions on Thursday approved two expensive insurance mandates – one requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for all children and adults under age 21 and a second requiring coverage of treatment for cleft palates.
The bills of interest to employers include:
AIM opposed the cleft palate and hearing aid bills because they represent the latest in a steady stream of health insurance mandates that will exacerbate the health cost crisis for small employers. State-mandated benefits account for $1.3 billion or 12 cents of every dollar paid for health insurance.
“At a time when employers and the state are struggling with rising health care costs and the Legislature has passed payment reform legislation to contain the cost of health care, adopting new mandated benefits runs counter to those efforts,” Regan said.