Health fight ends in options

Jenny Marder

An eight-month battle over benefits that caused a rift between the

city and its employees ended Monday night when the city agreed to

offer more healthcare choices and shoulder more of the cost.

When the plan goes into effect on April 1, employees will get to

choose among three options: a Blue Shield PPO, a Blue Shield HMO or a

Kaiser Permanente HMO. The dental and vision insurance plans remain

unchanged.

The new medical plans will replace what a city PPO and an HMO

administered by Health Net, which employees complained was a small

network that many doctors don’t accept.

The city will also share the burden of an additional $470,000 per

year of the healthcare costs. The City Council voted Dec. 15 to cut

four positions that had been left vacant in anticipation of another

hit to the city’s budget and an annual department audit. That money

will be put toward employees’ health benefits.

Assistant City Administrator Bill Workman said he is confident

that they’ve found a package that appeals to all parties.

“I feel very good about the agreement that we’ve reached,” Workman

said. “Congratulations and thanks go out to the employee associations

and the City Council for staying with it and staying engaged and for

trying to resolve what nationwide is a real critical problem for

employees and employers.”

The new plan, Workman said, offers everything employees are

seeking -- affordability, choice and quality care.

“The city’s in-house plan is a small plan that didn’t have the

marketplace or quite the viability that a larger Blue Shield plan

has,” Workman said. “Employees had expressed more interest in the

Blue Shield plan than in Health Net and other plans we had looked

at.”

The new package is a cut above its predecessor, said John Von

Holle, president of the Municipal Employees Assn.”Considering the

time, the way medical is and everything else, I believe we did the

best we could for our members,” Von Holle said.

The old plan would have cost as much as a third of workers’ income

because of rising healthcare costs, he said.

“They might not like the HMO, but at least we made it so they

could have health coverage at a reasonable price,” Von Holle said.

“We had to get an avenue for some of these employees who are really

strapped for cash.”

The city will pay an additional $93.88 per employee per month

until the new plan is adopted April 1. From then on, it will

contribute an additional $37.72 per month.

Employees who opt for the Blue Shield PPO will pay up to $196

monthly, depending on the number of dependants. Those who choose one

of the two HMO options will contribute up to $60.

Officials from Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield will soon hold

meetings with city employees to brief them on the different

healthcare options.