Health Care - Our Objective

Health Care - Our Objective
November 9, 2009

The union's goals and objectives with regard to the process of moving to an experienced-rated plan with a sole provider:

1. To provide our members – both active and retired – with the same or higher level of benefits at a controlled cost.

2. To maintain current contribution rates of 15% for employees hired after January 1991, and a 0% contribution for those employees hired before 1991.

3. To provide active members with an opportunity to further reduce their premiums by offering two different plans to choose from.

4. To negotiate better individual benefits wherever possible.

5. To lower costs for the District, thereby alleviating the burden on taxpayers of New York State and closing the deficit without resorting to layoffs.

For the most part, these were collective goals that were shared by all four unions that were involved in the process. We succeeded in all five areas. The new plan maintains contribution rates, lowers the cost for those paying 15% with rate caps on years two and three, gives members an option to pay a 5% contribution for a plan with higher co-pays and deductibles, enhances benefits in a few different categories, increases the size of the network, and saves the District at least 41 million dollars in the next three years.

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