Retail leaders express concern with healthcare legislation

Arlington, Va. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) expressed concern that healthcare reform legislation under consideration in the Senate would exacerbate many of the problems Congress has sought to correct, while also driving beneficiaries from the plans they know and like.

RILA and its member companies said they are committed to health care reform efforts that control overall costs, preserve the bedrock of employer-based health care, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and protect employers’ ability to design benefit plans to meet their unique workforce needs. In the letter, RILA urged practical changes to the Senate legislation that would protect the quality and affordable benefits RILA members provide.

RILA members currently provide benefits to millions of employees and their families. However, costly burdens, such as those imposed by the healthcare reform legislation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the legislation currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate, could undermine economic recovery, cost more jobs for the retail industry and drive employees from the healthcare plans they currently know and like.