WASHINGTON -- The health care reform legislation currently working its way through the U.S. House notably sets forth a hefty penalty for small businesses that do not provide health insurance to their employees.

The Senates version of health care reform also contains a provision for small business to provide coverage, but gives small firms a choice in the matter.

The House bill, which hopes to extend health coverage to most of the countrys 46 million uninsured, comes with a price tag of more than $1 trillion over the next decade and aims to eventually cover 97 percent of legal residents.

In addition to higher taxes on the countrys wealthiest population, the House plan calls for more granular accounting of small business health insurance coverage of employees.

According to the Houses proposed plan, small businesses with payrolls of less than $250,000 would be exempt from penalties, those with payrolls ranging from $250,000 to $400,000 would be responsible for health care coverage or face a small penalty, and businesses with more than $400,000 in payroll would be liable for an 8 percent penalty for failure to provide health insurance.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved its version of healthcare reform legislation by a 13-10, party-line vote.

The Senate bill mandates that businesses with more than 25 employees either provide healthcare insurance for workers or pay the U.S. government $750 per year per full-time employee.

The bill also would create an interactive exchange where small businesses and individuals could interact to purchase health insurance.

Financing of the Senate bill has yet to be addressed by the Senate Finance Committee, and financing is the key issue.

For these reasons and others, there is strong motivation for small bus operators and other small businesses to cast a discerning eye towards Washington these days as the universal health care bills make their way through the House and Senate.

While the outcomes and effects of the proposed healthcare reform remain to be seen, the momentum for government-mandated health care has picked up pace with President Obama calling on Congress to "buck up" and pass health care reform legislation before its August recess.