N.J. Law to Track Health Insurance Benefits at Retailers, Other Big Businesses
PRINCTEON, N.J. -- A bill signed by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine last week requires the state Department of Human Services to keep track of which businesses rely on NJ FamilyCare, a Medicaid-funded health care program for working-poor families, to provide medical benefits for a minimum of 50 employees, according to a published report.
According to the liberal think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, 51 businesses in the state had 100 or more workers getting their health insurance benefits from FamilyCare, including Wal-Mart/Sam's Club and Pathmark.
"Mounting evidence suggests that some large employers like Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers are trying to maximize profits at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers who foot the bill for NJ FamilyCare," Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), one of the sponsors of the bill, told the Newark, N.J. Star-Ledger.
In accordance with the law, the state must compile an annual watch list of such businesses for the governor and legislature, detailing employer information, the type of insurance offered, the number of employees and family members enrolled, and what the state is paying to insure these workers, the report is due Feb. 1. The purpose of the report is to evaluate the decline in employer-provided health insurance.
PRINCTEON, N.J. -- A bill signed by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine last week requires the state Department of Human Services to keep track of which businesses rely on NJ FamilyCare, a Medicaid-funded health care program for working-poor families, to provide medical benefits for a minimum of 50 employees, according to a published report.
According to the liberal think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, 51 businesses in the state had 100 or more workers getting their health insurance benefits from FamilyCare, including Wal-Mart/Sam's Club and Pathmark.
"Mounting evidence suggests that some large employers like Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers are trying to maximize profits at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers who foot the bill for NJ FamilyCare," Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), one of the sponsors of the bill, told the Newark, N.J. Star-Ledger.
In accordance with the law, the state must compile an annual watch list of such businesses for the governor and legislature, detailing employer information, the type of insurance offered, the number of employees and family members enrolled, and what the state is paying to insure these workers, the report is due Feb. 1. The purpose of the report is to evaluate the decline in employer-provided health insurance.
According to the liberal think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, 51 businesses in the state had 100 or more workers getting their health insurance benefits from FamilyCare, including Wal-Mart/Sam's Club and Pathmark.
"Mounting evidence suggests that some large employers like Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers are trying to maximize profits at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers who foot the bill for NJ FamilyCare," Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), one of the sponsors of the bill, told the Newark, N.J. Star-Ledger.
In accordance with the law, the state must compile an annual watch list of such businesses for the governor and legislature, detailing employer information, the type of insurance offered, the number of employees and family members enrolled, and what the state is paying to insure these workers, the report is due Feb. 1. The purpose of the report is to evaluate the decline in employer-provided health insurance.
PRINCTEON, N.J. -- A bill signed by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine last week requires the state Department of Human Services to keep track of which businesses rely on NJ FamilyCare, a Medicaid-funded health care program for working-poor families, to provide medical benefits for a minimum of 50 employees, according to a published report.
According to the liberal think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, 51 businesses in the state had 100 or more workers getting their health insurance benefits from FamilyCare, including Wal-Mart/Sam's Club and Pathmark.
"Mounting evidence suggests that some large employers like Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers are trying to maximize profits at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers who foot the bill for NJ FamilyCare," Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), one of the sponsors of the bill, told the Newark, N.J. Star-Ledger.
In accordance with the law, the state must compile an annual watch list of such businesses for the governor and legislature, detailing employer information, the type of insurance offered, the number of employees and family members enrolled, and what the state is paying to insure these workers, the report is due Feb. 1. The purpose of the report is to evaluate the decline in employer-provided health insurance.