[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1969 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1969

       To provide health benefits for workers and their families.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 22, 1998

  Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To provide health benefits for workers and their families.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Care for Working Families 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) every industrialized country in the world except the 
        United States guarantees the fundamental right to health care 
        to all its citizens;
            (2) 41,000,000 Americans are without health insurance 
        coverage;
            (3) the number of uninsured Americans is growing every 
        year;
            (4) the vast majority of uninsured Americans are workers or 
        dependents of workers;
            (5) for more than half a century, Congress has enacted laws 
        to ensure that work is appropriately rewarded, including laws 
        establishing a minimum wage and a 40 hour work week, laws 
        ensuring safe and healthy working conditions, and laws 
        requiring employers to contribute to the cost of retirement 
        security through Social Security and Medicare; and
            (6) as the United States approaches the 21st century, it is 
        time to enact requirements guaranteeing that jobs carry with 
        them affordable, adequate health insurance benefits.

SEC. 3. HEALTH BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new 
title:

      ``TITLE II--HEALTH BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES

``SEC. 201. HEALTH BENEFITS.

    ``(a) Offer to Enroll.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each large employer, in accordance with 
        this title, shall offer to each of its employees the 
        opportunity to enroll in a qualifying health benefit plan that 
        provides coverage for the employee and the family of the 
        employee.
            ``(2) Qualifying health benefit plan.--For purposes of this 
        title, the term `qualifying health benefit plan' means a plan 
        that provides benefits for health care items and services that 
        are actuarily equivalent or greater in value than the benefits 
        offered as of January 1, 1998 under the Blue Cross/Blue Shield 
        Standard Plan provided under the Federal Employees Health 
        Benefit Program under chapter 89 of title 5, United States 
        Code, and that meets the requirements of title XXVII of the 
        Public Health Service Act applicable to the plan.
    ``(b) Contribution and Withholding.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each large employer, in accordance with 
        this title, shall--
                    ``(A) contribute to the cost of any qualifying 
                health benefit plan offered to its employees under 
                subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) withhold from the wages of an employee, the 
                employee share of the premium assessed for coverage 
                under the qualifying health benefit plan.
            ``(2) Required contribution.--Except as provided in 
        paragraphs (3) and (4), the portion of the total premium to be 
        paid by a large employer under paragraph (1)(A) shall not be 
        less than the portion of the total premium that the Federal 
        Government contributes under the Blue Cross/Blue Shield 
        Standard Plan provided under the Federal Employees Health 
        Benefit Program under chapter 89 of title 5, United States 
        Code.
            ``(3) Part-time employees.--With respect to an employee who 
        works less than 30 hours per week, the employer contribution 
        required under paragraph (2) shall be equal to the product of--
                    ``(A) the contribution required under paragraph 
                (2); and
                    ``(B) the ratio of number of hours worker by the 
                employee in a typical week to 30 hours.
            ``(4) Limitation.--No employer contribution shall be 
        required under this subsection with respect to an employer who 
        works less than 10 hours per week.
    ``(c) Employee Obligation Under Certain Programs.--
            ``(1) In general.--With respect to an employee covered 
        under a Federal health insurance program (as defined in 
        paragraph (3)), such employee shall accept an offer of health 
        insurance coverage under subsection (a) and agree to the 
        appropriate payroll withholdings under subsection (b)(1)(B) for 
        such coverage or provide for the payment of the employee share 
        of premiums under paragraph (2), except that this subsection 
        shall not apply--
                    ``(A) with respect to an employee who is otherwise 
                covered under an employment-based qualified health 
                benefit plan; or
                    ``(B) with respect to the coverage of a family 
                member of an employee if the employee does not elect 
                coverage for such family member and the family member 
                is otherwise covered under an employment-based 
                qualified health benefit plan.
            ``(2) Payment of premiums.--At the request of an employee 
        to which paragraph (1) applies, the relevant Federal 
        administrator of the Federal health insurance program involved 
        shall provide for the payment of the employee share of the 
        premium assessed for coverage under the qualifying health 
        benefit plan involved. For purposes of title XIX of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), the requirement of this 
        paragraph shall be deemed to be a requirement under the 
        appropriate State plan under such title XIX.
            ``(3) Federal health insurance program.--As used in this 
        subsection, the term `Federal health insurance program' means--
                    ``(A) the medicare or medicaid program under title 
                XVIII or XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 
                or 1396 et seq.);
                    ``(B) the Federal employee health benefit program 
                under chapter 89 of title V, United States Code; or
                    ``(C) the Civilian Health and Medical Program of 
                the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), as defined in section 
                1073(4) of title 10, United States Code.
    ``(d) Large Employers.--
            ``(1) In general.--The provisions of this title shall only 
        apply to large employers.
            ``(2) Definition.--
                    ``(A) In general.--As used in paragraph (1), the 
                term `large employer' means, with respect to a calendar 
                year and plan year, an employer that employed an 
                average of at least 50 full-time employees on business 
                days during the preceding calendar year and who employs 
                not less than 50 employees on the first day of the plan 
                year.
                    ``(B) Exception.--The provisions of this title 
                shall apply with respect to an employer that is not a 
                large employer under subparagraph (A) if the majority 
                of the services performed by such employer consist of 
                services performed on behalf of a single large 
                employer.
            ``(3) Contract workers.--For purposes of this title, a 
        contract worker of an employer shall be considered to be an 
        employee of the employer.

``SEC. 202. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO TIMING OF COVERAGE AND 
              WITHHOLDING.

    ``(a) Date of Initial Coverage.--In the case of an employee 
enrolled under a qualifying health benefit plan provided by a large 
employer, the coverage under the plan must begin not later than 30 days 
after the day on which the employee first performs an hour of service 
as an employee of that employer.
    ``(b) Withholding Permitted.--No provision of State law shall 
prevent an employer of an employee enrolled under a qualifying health 
benefit plan established under this title from withholding the amount 
of any premium due by the employee from the payroll of the employee.

``SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT.

    ``(a) Civil Money Penalty Against Private Employers.--The 
provisions of section 502--
            ``(1) relating to the commencement of civil actions by the 
        Secretary under subsection (a) of such section;
            ``(2) relating to civil money penalties under subsection 
        (c)(2) of such section; and
            ``(3) relating to the procedures for assessing, collecting 
        and the judicial review of such civil money penalties;
shall apply with respect to any large employer that does not comply 
with this title.
    ``(b) Injunctive Relief.--The provisions of section 17 shall apply 
with respect to violations of this title.

``SEC. 204. PREEMPTION.

    ``Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent a State from 
establishing, implementing, or continuing in effect standards and 
requirements relating to employer provided health insurance coverage 
unless such standards and requirements prevent the application of a 
requirements of this title.

``SEC. 205. DEFINITION AND EFFECTIVE DATE.

    ``(a) Definition.--In this title the terms `family' and `family 
member' mean, with respect to an employee, the spouse and children 
(including adopted children) of the employee.
    ``(b) Effective Date.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        this title shall apply with respect to employers on January 1, 
        1999.
            ``(2) Collective bargaining agreements.--This title shall 
        apply with respect to employees covered under a collective 
        bargaining agreement on the first day of the first plan year 
        beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, or January 
        1, 1999, whichever occurs later.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by 
        striking out the first section and inserting in lieu thereof 
        the following:

``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    ``This Act may be cited as the `Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938'.

                     ``TITLE I--WAGES AND HOURS''.

            (2) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by 
        striking out ``this Act'' each place it occurs and inserting in 
        lieu thereof ``this title''.
            (3) Section 17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
        U.S.C. 217) is amended by inserting ``or violations of title 
        II'' before the period.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

    Title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 202 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 247. REQUIREMENT FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE.

    ``A health insurance issuer (as defined in section 2791(a)) that 
offers health insurance coverage (as defined in section 2791(a)) to an 
employer on behalf of the employees of such employer shall ensure that 
such coverage complies with the requirements of title II of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938.''.
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