'Pay or Play' helps provide health coverage to workers

Yesterday Mayor White announced the city's new "pay or play" proposal, which would help to provide health care to employees working on city contracts. Under this program, contractors can choose to play, which means they agree to offer a minimal level of health care benefits to full-time employees. Or if they opt to pay, they must contribute to efforts to support the local network of medical service providers that form the "safety net" for Houstonians without health insurance.

If the employer decides to play, it is free to choose the health plan best suited for the business, as long as it contributes a minimum of $150 toward the monthly premium and the employee pays no more than half of the monthly cost. Employees are not required to participate in the plan, but employers are required to make the offer. Contractors who pay will contribute $1 per hour worked by full-time employees on City projects to a fund dedicated to offset the cost of providing medical care to uninsured persons in the Houston area. This does not generate any revenue for the City of Houston.

Houston and Harris County have one of the largest populations of uninsured individuals, including those who are employed. A majority of contractors do already offer health insurance, but this proposal would level the playing field for those who bid on city contracts. Mayor White says that his program "puts words into action by engaging the business community as partners in the challenge to support the workforce in the local community."

The City Council will take up this issue at this week's meeting.