State and local plans to cover the uninsured encounter ERISA problems

Two articles in USA Today detail the problems state and local governments are having with employer health care insurance mandates. States such as California, Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota are considering proposals to expand coverage by requiring employers to offer health coverage themselves or pay into a public fund to help cover the uninsured. (Source: "Universal health care plans up against U.S. law," Jan. 16, 2007.) However, an early proponent of this idea, the city of San Francisco, is fighting a lawsuit saying the city law violates the federal Employee Retirement Income and Security Act (ERISA), which bars states from requiring or regulating employer-provided benefits such as health coverage. Many businesses complain that San Francisco's employer mandates are too expensive, along with illegal under ERISA. (Source: "Businesses fight plans to ensure health care," Jan. 16, 2007.) So far courts are split on if ERISA allows city and states to mandate health care coverage or a health care payment and observers believe the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately have to decide the issue.