Washington – “We are disappointed by the passage of a House bill that we cannot support. The House legislation contains many provisions that will threaten the coverage that 177 million Americans currently have through the employer-based system. Not only does it establish a government-run health plan, but it includes a “play or pay” mandate for employers that would limit the flexibility employers have to develop innovative plans for our employees.

“In addition, the bill fails to meet the bipartisan goal of controlling costs. To get health care reform right, we need to bend the cost curve for all Americans. The government-run plan would just shift costs to employers: first, by shrinking and unbalancing the pool of individuals covered by private insurance and second, by reimbursing providers at a sub-market rate. This won’t just hurt businesses, it will hurt the millions of workers who have coverage through their employers.

“We need to work together to preserve the best of America’s health care system – including employer-sponsored coverage – while expanding those benefits to all Americans and reducing costs. We urge Congress to keep this in mind as they reconcile the House and Senate bills, and ask them to create an open, all-inclusive market for health insurance.

“We remain committed to working with Congress and the White House to get health care reform done and get it done right,” said John J. Castellani, President of Business Roundtable.