FMI: House Bill Offers Flexibility for Food Retail Industry Health Care Coverage

April 3, 2014 – ARLINGTON, VA – Food Marketing Institute (FMI) today issued the following statement from FMI Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs Jennifer Hatcher regarding the House passage of a bill to raise the Affordable Care Act’s "full-time" definition:

"FMI greatly appreciates House passage of H.R. 2575 – the Save American Workers Act of 2014—to raise the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) 30-hour per week ‘full-time employee’ definition to practical workforce standards. We thank every Representative who voted in support of H.R. 2575 on behalf of their neighborhood grocery stores.

"Just the other day, the President indicated the Administration’s interest in working with others to improve or fix problems with the ACA. H.R. 2575 addresses a fundamental problem with the ACA—defining full-time workers as those averaging 30-hours per week— without repealing or dismantling the law.

"There is a growing consensus that the ACA’s re-defining a full-time employee as someone who averages 30-hours per week is impacting the American workforce—both in workers’ take-home pay and operating a variable-hour business like a supermarket. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has noted the impact of the ACA on workers’ hours and take-home pay. CBO also estimates that, under H.R. 2575, employers will not only continue to offer coverage, but remain the primary sponsor of health coverage by a wide-margin.

"Indeed, H.R. 2575 provides additional flexibility that allows food retailers and wholesalers to continue offering quality, affordable health coverage to their employees. Most of all, House passage of H.R. 2575 is a critical step for policymakers to lift the ACA’s 30-hour per week full-time employee definition this year.

"We look to lawmakers in the Senate for support of this important and common sense change to reflect practical workforce standards."