By NextBestFitEnforce maintenance of compensation
Years 1–4 (requirement lasts 3 years after each worker's wave) · DOL Wage & Hour Division; employers; unionsDiscuss this step
How other countries handled this same piece of implementation, what happened, and what it means for this plan.
Side by side
| Country | Approach | Result | Lesson for this plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| This plan (U.S.) | Employers that paid health premiums must convert their savings into wages or other compensation. In steady state employers paid $1.05T in premiums (private, federal, state & local) and owe $873.4B in the new tax; 85% of the difference is assumed to reach paychecks. | ||
| Netherlands | Employers pay an income-related contribution, and employees pay flat premiums directly to insurers. | Employers out of plan selection; coverage portable. | Employers can fund coverage without choosing it. |
| Germany | Employers withhold and pay half the contribution but have no role in choosing the fund. | Coverage portable across jobs. | Separating employer financing from plan choice ends job lock. |
Netherlands
- What they did
- Employers pay an income-related contribution, and employees pay flat premiums directly to insurers.
- What happened
- Employers out of plan selection; coverage portable.
- Lesson for this plan
- Employers can fund coverage without choosing it.
Germany
- What they did
- Employers withhold and pay half the contribution but have no role in choosing the fund.
- What happened
- Coverage portable across jobs.
- Lesson for this plan
- Separating employer financing from plan choice ends job lock.
More precedent
- Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care Act (1974) mandated employer coverage, with wage effects that studies found modest.