Health Insurance at Work

The current state of the health insurance industry is something that has been under great scrutiny as of late. This is particularly true in the state of California where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is working hard to pass new laws that will work in the favor of employees. A recent poll shows that Republican and Democratic voters agree on the fact that employers should have to provide health insurance to full time employees, or at the very least they should be required to pay into a fund that would help to provide coverage.

The top two Democratic leaders in the state have already proposed a new health care plan that requires employers to either offer coverage to full time employees, or pay into a fund. Either way, employers who are not offering health insurance would be affected by the new laws. Governor Schwarzenegger is set to release his plan sometime in the very near future. Over 78 percent of people participating in the poll voted that employers should have to provide health insurance to full time employees. Additionally, about 75 percent of these people also feel that health insurance should be offered to part time employees in which costs are shared by the employer, the employee, and the government.

Although the health insurance industry is not doing well anywhere in the United States, the state of California may be the worst off. Over 6 million residents of the state are uninsured, and health insurance premiums are outgrowing inflation in the area. The only problem with this proposed system is that the businesses in the state are not excited about increased costs. They believe that before they can do their part the health insurance system must be fixed. It will be interesting to see what California decides on, and if it has any affect on what the rest of the country will do in the upcoming years.