The Washington Post cited a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that claimed that a proposal by Senator Max Baucus would cost the jobs of low-wage workers, who are disproportionately women and minorities. The report claimed that a requirement, that large employers (more than 50 workers) reimburse the government for any health care subsidies received by their workers, would lead to job loss among lower wage workers. In fact, economists generally assume that benefits, including health care benefits, come out of wages. In this case, the reimbursement would presumably mostly come out of workers' wages, at least after the markets have had time to adjust. It is also worth noting that the vast majority of large employers already provide health care coverage to their workers, so the employers in question would still be paying less for the health care of their workers than most large employers, even if they were required to reimburse the government for its subsidies.
--Dean Baker
