A law enacted in Hawaii in 1974 that requires employers to provide health insurance for employees working at least 20 hours a week is being cited by researchers who are skeptical of similar mandates being suggested in the argument for universal health care.

The result of Hawaii's law has been that businesses have relied more on employees who work less than 20 hours per week and aren’t covered under the requirement, wrote San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank research adviser Rob Valletta and co- authors, Tom Buchmueller and John DiNardo, both University of Michigan professors.
“The results of our research” into health insurance coverage in Hawaii “imply that an employer mandate is not an effective means for achieving universal coverage,” the authors wrote.
“Although overall insurance coverage rates are unusually high in Hawaii, a substantial number of people remain uninsured, suggesting a need for alternative approaches if universal coverage is the ultimate goal,” they said.
Legislative proposals in both chambers of Congress would expand health insurance coverage to 46 million Americans who are currently uninsured in part by requiring businesses to provide coverage or pay subsidies for such a benefit.
President Barack Obama has left largely to Congress the task of crafting universal health care, while saying he wants to sign such a measure into law by October.
The percentage of Americans who receive health insurance through their employer or that of a family member has dropped to 59 percent in 2007 from 64 percent in 2000, according to the Fed paper released today.
The focus on health care is unusual because previous papers from the San Francisco Fed released during the past two months have focused on the economy or monetary policy.