WASHINGTON, DC -- Companies in the state of Maryland with more than 10,000 employees are being asked to pay more for employee healthcare coverage.

On Jan. 12, the Maryland State Legislature overrode legislation vetoed by Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) that will require large companies in the state that employ more than 10,000 workers, such as Wal-Mart, to spend 8 percent of labor costs on employee healthcare benefits. Four companies in Maryland employ more than 10,000 workers, notes Stateline.org, with Wal-Mart employing nearly 17,000 workers. The news source also notes that Wal-Mart “is the only one that does not spend the required amount on health benefits.”

Wal-Mart issued a statement noting that the new law is more about state politics than providing healthcare benefits for employees. “There are 786,000 uninsured people in the state of Maryland, and less than one-half of one percent work for Wal-Mart. Clearly, the legislators who voted for this bill have let down hundreds of thousands of Marylanders in need,” said Wal-Mart spokesperson Sarah Clark.

Meanwhile, according to Stateline.org, other states such as Washington are considering the ramifications of passing similar legislation.

“Washington State’s House and Senate each will hold hearings Thursday (Jan. 19) on a proposal to require companies and government agencies with more than 5,000 employees to spend at least 9 percent of payroll costs on health insurance--or contribute the difference to the state's Medicaid program,” writes the news source.

However, because the Maryland law is “narrowly written and may not result in coverage for significant numbers of uninsured people,” writes The New York Times, it may not be the best model for other states to adopt.

“The Maryland law is aimed at Wal-Mart, not the issue of the uninsured,” Paul B. Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, told the Times.

The newspaper notes that Wal-Mart currently insures less than half of its 1.3 million employees in the United States, and according to an internal memo, roughly 65,000 Wal-Mart employees rely on Medicaid.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, notes Stateline.org, 13 states “considered legislation in 2005 requiring companies to provide health insurance or pay a fee to the state.” While Maryland was the only state to enact legislation, several proposals in other states will carry into this year’s legislative sessions. “The states that considered proposals in 2005 are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington,” writes the news source.

Industries vulnerable to state laws mandating healthcare coverage include retail and restaurant chains because “they employ so many low-income workers,” writes the Times. The National Retail Federation (NRF), National Restaurant Association and the International Franchise Association are forming a coalition to combat state legislative proposals similar to the Maryland law.

“If retailers are hit with this extra cost, this is going to put them in a position to raise prices for consumers or lay off workers," J. Craig Shearman, NRF vice president of government relations, told the Times.