On a recent episode of the IssuesWatch podcast, NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Chris Emigholz said the so-called employer Medicaid tax proposal was the troubling revenue raiser in Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s $60.7 billion budget plan and he laid out the reasons why.
“I do think this is the most anti-business part of the state budget that was proposed,” Emigholz told Jeff Kaszerman, New Jersey CPA Society (NJCPA) Vice President of Government Affairs and host of the IssuesWatch podcast.
Sherrill wants to charge a per employee penalty on businesses that have 50 or more workers receiving Medicaid benefits. However, that policy would penalize employers who actually do offer healthcare benefits but have employees who decline to enroll in the plan or do not work enough hours to qualify for coverage.
“You might be a large employer that gives great health benefits, but maybe you have a seasonal uptick, and you'll hire a bunch of people in December to help with the Christmas rush, and those folks don't get health benefits, but they're on Medicaid,” Emigholz said. “You're going to get dinged with this penalty.”
This policy change would also hurt employers who offer health insurance but have full-time employees who elect not to enroll in the employer’s plan because Medicaid provides less expensive co-pays or offers coverage for services not typically covered by private insurers, such as home- and community-based services.
“If you’re a large employer, and you’re doing what (the state has) incentivized people to do which is hiring individuals with developmental disabilities, well this community is very highly likely to be on Medicaid,” Emigholz said. “So now you’re getting penalized for hiring somebody with a disability because they happen to be on Medicaid – even if you give great health insurance to your employees. That makes no sense.”
To listen to the full episode of the April 6 IssuesWatch podcast, go here.
