California's Health Insurance Act of 2003: View of the Market

Abstract

This play or pay mandate would have required California employers to either provide medical insurance for their employees or pay into a state insurance fund. Although the law ultimately did not go into effect, movements in shareholder wealth provide evidence about the differential effects of such health-care mandates on various types of employers. Large or unionized firms had no negative effects expected profits declined most for firms with 50,199 employees.