Health Care Bill Excludes Special Construction Provision

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The controversial provision sponsored by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley (D), which would have required small construction firms with six or more full-time workers and a payroll of $250,000 or more to offer health insurance to their employees or pay a penalty per worker, was not part of the final health care overhaul approved by Congress March 25.

The Senate passed the House’ “corrections” health bill and The House quickly followed, passing it as well.

The corrections bill was arranged to fix problems in the Senate-passed bill that House lawmakers didn’t like. Included in the package of fixes was an exclusion of the Merkley construction provision. The defeat of the Merkley amendment is a loss for organized labor, which had lobbied heavily to see it included in the final bill.

While employer groups are happy to see the Merkley provision go away, some still complain that the health care bill will result in higher premiums and taxes for businesses. Supporters that it will help slow the dramatic rise of health care costs over the long-term.