Sick time, health care merger change nixed
Lawmakers in two committees yesterday voted against proposals that would affect businesses and the state's health care providers.
The Legislature's Labor Committee voted 9-2 yesterday against a bill that would prohibit businesses from firing employees who take sick days, itself a stripped-down version of a proposal that would have required Maine businesses to provide paid sick days, according to the Kennebec Journal. Representatives from the business committee were opposed to the bill, and committee members were concerned about the various amendments made to the proposal, including one that would have imposed fines on businesses that didn't comply. Because two members voted in favor of the bill, it will move forward to the full Legislature.
Meanwhile, the Insurance and Financial Services Committee removed a portion of a health care proposal that would have scaled down the process for hospitals and health care providers to merge, according to the Sun Journal. Currently, the expedited process is only allowed for mergers between more than two hospitals or more than two health care providers. The decision affects a proposed merger between MaineHealth, Maine Cardiology Associates and Cardiovascular Consultants of Maine. Yesterday, the groups withdrew their application for the merger until the Legislature clarifies the Hospital and Health Care Cooperation Act, and plan to refile if the Legislature allows the change, according to a press release.
Some lawmakers in the committee said they might support the merger, but hesitated to rewrite the legislation so close to the end of the session, according to the Sun Journal. The full Legislature must also vote on the merger changes.
Go to the article from the Kennebec Journal >>
Go to the article from the Sun Journal >>
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