Ms. Abraham, thank you. I learned something today. It seems illogical to require an employer to meet a participation quotient in his own plan when some of his employees have coverage provided by another party. The goal of the law in Massachusetts, I understand, is to ensure that all residents have insurance or access to insurance. I applaud Mr. Garry for offering coverage despite the fact that it's cheaper for him to pay the penalties. It seems as if the legislation should be amended to address just this situation.

The insurance system in this state was created with the good intentions to get everyone in the commonwalth access to health insurance. After it was implemeted it became a case study in inintended consequences. Employers like the one mentioned in the article got unfairly fined. Scofflaws continued to abuse the system by showing up in emergency rooms when their kids had a sore throat.

I think the law should not include those already with private insurance in the denominator. If this were done he probably would make the cut.

No good deed goes unpunished, Vonnie.

The Globe's uninformed anti-business bias is on display once when Yvonne Abraham writes that Massachusetts employers who do not contribute towards their employee's health insurance premiums are "bad guys", "jerks who flout the law", or "scofflaws" -- a word invented in the 1920's from a contest run by the Boston Herald to create a word that described habitual illegal drinkers during Prohibition. Employers who do not pay 50% of the cost of individual health insurance coverage, or 33% of family coverage, for at least 25% of their employees are required to contribute $295 per employee per year to the Commonwealth Care Fund. Employers who chose this option, or who can't get enough employees to sign up for their plan, are working entirely within the law. Separately, the Commonwealth requires that employers with uninsured (or underinsured) employees who seek free care pay a portion of the cost of free care if the employer does not offer a tax-advantaged Section 125 Plan that allows for pre-tax payment of medical insurance premiums. In an interesting twist, Massachusetts employers are must make this contribution even for out-of-state employees who work in Massachusetts, even though those employees are not eligible for the state's Commonwealth Choice insurance program. Ms. Abraham is entitled to her opinion that companies that do not pay for their employees' medical insurance are being "unfair". But they are a law-abiding corporate citizens nonetheless.