Companies bidding on state contracts should not get a competitive advantage because they don’t offer health care to their employees.

Many Maine employers are finding it harder and harder to offer health insurance to their employees. Soaring insurance rates are increasing the burden on employers, particularly small business owners, who want to do the right thing and continue to offer this insurance.

If we are to make any progress toward providing universal coverage – the heart of any true health care reform, such as the plan scheduled to be unveiled by Gov. Baldacci on Monday – we need to find ways to encourage and support those employers who do provide this benefit.

A bill now before the State and Local Government Committee would make a small but significant contribution in encouraging employers to provide health insurance.

L.D. 1206, sponsored by House Speaker Pat Colwell, requires that state government take the bidder’s cost of providing health and retirement benefits into account when it awards contracts for personal services. The bill would level the playing field for employers in the personal services field – providing labor, rather than products – that do offer health benefits when they bid for state contracts.

They shouldn’t be penalized for doing the right thing. They shouldn’t lose out because another company that doesn’t offer benefits submits a lower bid.

The bill doesn’t require any company to offer health insurance, and it imposes no mandates. Instead, it uses the information the state already collects on bids – which includes not only wages, but also benefits – and requires its use in evaluating bids. This is really no different than considering other non-wage items, such as whether a contractor is licensed or meets other state requirements. We don’t require acceptance of the lowest bid for precisely this reason.

Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way, and several members of the committee have announced they will vote against the bill when it reaches the floor. They believe it would increase costs to the state and discriminate against certain bidders.

In fact, it will be far more costly to the state to favor contractors who have cut health care benefits out of their compensation packages.

In Maine, we don’t believe in denying health care to anyone, but those who lack insurance are often treated in emergency rooms at a much greater cost than if they had regular access to care. Ultimately, the taxpayers, other employers and health care providers pay the burden for those services through higher premiums and increased Medicaid costs.

Again, the bill doesn’t require any company to offer health insurance. It simply doesn’t allow a personal services company bidding on a state contract to gain a competitive advantage by failing to offer these benefits. It’s a simple bill, really, but the principle behind it is very important.

Universal health care coverage is vital because it’s the right thing to do, but also because bringing everyone into the system allows us to manage costs and make insurance more affordable.

The Legislature needs to assist in this effort in every way it can, and this bill, L.D. 1206, is an important first step in the right direction.

Rep. Janet McLaughlin, D-Cape Elizabeth, is serving her second term in the House and her first as co-chair of the State and Local Government Committee.