Health Insurance for Golf Facilities?

The nature of seasonal employment is incompatible with the process of enrolling workers in employer sponsored health plans. The administrative burdens on employers will be great, and the expansion in coverage will be negligible since many seasonal employees, even if enrolled quickly, will move on before the advantage of coverage can be taken.

The U.S. Senate is moving quickly to pass its version of healthcare reform (H.R. 3590) by Christmas and the golf industry is concerned about a provision in the bill to require most employers to provide insurance to seasonal workers or be fined. GCSAA has created an action alert to help members share their concerns with lawmakers about the treatment of seasonal workers in the Senate bill.

Of concern to the golf industry, the current version of the bill in both the House and Senate would require most employers to provide insurance to seasonal workers or be fined. Another concern is a provision in the Senate bill that would require golf facilities with more than 200 employees to automatically enroll new hires into their insurance plan without a probationary period. Golf facilities with 50-200 employees would only be allowed to have a 30-day probationary period before they are forced to add new hires to the insurance plan. These provisions will certainly raise the insurance costs and administrative expenses incurred at golf facilities with high turnover rates.