U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said in a speech on Monday that she does not favor the so-called employer mandate that would require employers to extend health care benefits to employees or else face penalties.

Debbie Stabenow ImageInstead, Michigan’s junior senator, according to Crain’s Detroit Business, “told an audience of about 200 at the Southfield Westin that the Senate bill would require companies with 50 or more employees to pay a ‘fee’ to help subsidize their workers’ mandated health insurance coverage.”

Conversely, the House bill passed earlier this month would require businesses with 25 or more employees to provide them with heath insurance. Stabenow, also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, emphasized that the mix of tax credits and subsidies that will be included in the Senate’s version of health care reform has a simple goal in mind:

“Our goal is to make health insurance affordable for small businesses,” Stabenow said. “Tax credits would be used to offset 50 percent of their costs.”

In her speech, Stabenow also reiterated her support for a government-run public health insurance option that she said would help lower costs.