Three Amendments that Could Slow Down Senate Debate

In September, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) introduced an amendment that would impose a similar fee on employers not offering healthcare coverage to the legislation pending in the Finance Committee; however, he withdrew it. He planned to reintroduce this amendment on the floor.

Under his proposal, employers with at least 26 employees would have to pay an annual fee of $750 for each full time employee and $375 for each part time employee not covered by a health insurance plan. At the time, he said many employers could terminate healthcare coverage without an employer mandate and that the amendment would help to keep employers in the healthcare financing system.

Individual responsibility. In the current House bill, individuals will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining health insurance coverage. Those who decide not to obtain coverage would pay a penalty capped at 2.5% of modified adjusted gross income above a specified level.

This issue, though, has triggered responses in both chambers about penalizing those who may have difficulty affording insurance in the first place—and that debate is likely to emerge again in the Senate.