Sample of plan options offered this week

Discussions about next year’s health care coverage resumed Thursday with a proposal to give employees four different options for health care coverage — all under Empire Blue Cross.

The proposal would end charging employees a composite rate for health care and would instead charge different rates for singles, couples and families. For singles, it would mean significant savings. For families, it would likely mean major increases if approved.

The shift would let employees choose whether to pay a high deductible in return for lower weekly deductions out of their paychecks. Or they could choose a plan with no upfront deductible but with more money coming out of their paycheck every week.

Employees now pay $46.17 a week for health care.

Under the proposals put forth Thursday, the paycheck deduction could range from $10.11 to $30.04 a week for singles, from $19.70 to $58.59 weekly for couples, and from $29.30 to $87.12 a week for a family.

The cheapest plan would require employees to pay for the first $2,000 of medical care and 10 percent of subsequent costs (In all instances, preventative care like checkups would still be at no charge) for a total liability of $4,000. That figure does not count the premium deducted from paychecks.

In essence, employees under that plan would be taking the risk that they would not need much in the way of health care.

The other options were all very expensive for families, with weekly payroll deductions of $70.94, $80.37 and $87.12.

One of the options presented would enable employees to pay no deductible, but they would pay $25 for any office visit and $500 for any inpatient care, $100 for outpatient surgery and $100 for emergency room visits.

The other two plans presented came with $500 deductibles. In one scenario, employees would pay 10 percent of costs for care with a $1,500 out of pocket maximum. In the other, employees would pay 20 percent for care and outpatient surgery with a $100 fee for emergency room visits. In both instances, there would be a $35 co-pay for office visits.

For all but the high deductible plan, costs for medicine would be $10 for generic, $35 for brand name and $70 for nonformulary. Under the high deductible plan, medicines would cost $10/$25/$50.

By far, the biggest issue raised Thursday was the negative impact the change would have on families. According to the company, there are 32 individuals represented by the Guild who are on the company’s health insurance. There are 34 couples and 59 families.

The numbers discussed Thursday were all tentative, and the Company’s plan administrator, Rowlands and Barranca, said they were trying to determine whether there was interest in this approach.

Leaders of the Guild and other unions present, representing the mailroom and pressroom, said they would gather input from their members before talks resumed.

“We’ve paid a composite rate for decades. There is no question that means singles subsidize family coverage, but over the years that has been considered an acceptable choice given that many employees eventually move to family care,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “We appreciate the ability to examine different options but want to make sure we minimize the impact on employees especially after six years without raises.”

Changing health care along these lines would have to be carefully negotiated and any agreement would need to be approved by the membership. The union is awaiting a version of the document presented with the weekly payroll deducation calculations so that we can share those figures with our membership.

Leaders of the Guild and other unions began discussions Thursday on health care for
2014.

No decisions were made, and the talks will continue next Thursday. The Company also based its numbers on an assumption Guild members will pay a share of the Company deductible, which our union has not agreed to do.

The Company’s consultant, Rowlands and Barranca, presented multiple options and were recommending a switch from Blue Shield to Empire Blue Cross. That plan would not include coverage for going to doctors outside Blue Cross’ national network, which we now can do at a cost. The firm’s Michael Barranca said about 2 percent of the medical payments tend to be for doctors who are not part of the network.

Employees now pay $46.17 a week for health care. Under the numbers presented by the Company, that would rise to $54.91 a week if we stay with Blue Shield, an 18.9 percent increase. If we switch to the Empire Blue Cross and keep the $750 deductible, it would rise to $53.13 weekly, a 15 percent hike.

The company’s consultant presented three alternatives that would raise the deductible to $1,000. The Empire plan with the higher deductible would cost $51.93 a week, up 12.4 percent.

Guild President Tim O’Brien noted the slight savings on the premium would not make a $250 increase in the deductible worthwhile. He said there would be a backlash if the Company tried to raise the deductible.

As the Guild examined the numbers afterward, it became clear the Company is assuming our members would pay 23 percent of the Company’s reimbursement of its part of the deductible and would cover part of the cost for Rowlands and Barranca to administer the plan.

This stems back to a discussion last year where the Company sought to change the definition of “total cost” to include these items. We went into off-the-record negotiations last year, and the only agreement reached was to pay a set dollar amount.

“We have not reached any agreement on these numbers, and we maintain our right to bargain over exactly what our members will pay,” O’Brien said.

While the Company said its brokers had found a plan that would increase premium costs only about 4.5 percent, the bill to Guild members would rise substantially more than that due to the Company’s attempts at cost-shifting.

“Like last year, we are committed to bargaining on behalf of our members and we will carefully examine all these numbers in detail,” O’Brien said. “We will also keep our members informed every step of the way. With no raise in more than six years, Guild
members cannot afford more shifting of health care costs from the Company to
the employees.”

Adam McAvoy became the newest member of the Guild’s Executive Board Thursday when he was elected third vice president by the membership.

McAvoy, a customer service representative in the Circulation Department, has worked for the Times Union since December 2010. He and Photographer Cindy Schultz will go to Baltimore later this month for the annual New Officers Training Seminar. Each year the local sends one or two delegates to be taught how to bargain, handle grievances and other aspects of being a union leader.

“We’re grateful to Adam for joining the board. It will be great having a representative from Circulation again, and we know Adam’s outgoing personality will make him a strong representative of his colleagues,” said Guild President Tim O’Brien.

O’Brien, a reporter, was re-elected, as were Secretary Mark Hempstead, a marketing media specialist; Treasurer Marianne Mahr, an SEO specialist in advertising; Chief Steward Brian Nearing, a reporter; First Vice President Lindsay LaFountain, an advertising salesperson, and Second Vice President Jeff Boyer, an editorial artist. Nearing is on a leave of absence but plans to return October 1.

How should we mark the occasion?

A raise is long overdue. Our members deserve one for our hard work, our dedication and our continued willingness to do more with less. Our health care costs and expenses have gone up, so we are rapidly losing ground. And as we recently (and accidentally) were able to see, this company has a profit margin any other business would envy.

If you have an idea how to mark this anniversary, email us at office@albanyguild.org.

Local Edge workers to become employees
Guild to represent them; no more separate staff selling SEO

The Guild learned Tuesday that employees who have been working for Local Edge and selling ads into the Times Union will become Guild-represented employees.

Two of the employees are being let go by Local Edge, while the other four will join the Times Union officially effective July 1, Human Resources Director Ruth Fantasia told the union. The Company recognized that the Guild would have rights to represent them as part of the bargaining unit.

Local Edge was the successor to the Talking Phone Book. When Hearst got out of the telephone book business, it kept the staff and had its employees sell search engine optimization. While the Guild had always watched closely to be sure that Local Edge’s efforts did not displace any of our positions, outsourcing that would have required negotiation, we are glad these workers will become part of the operation and will welcome them aboard.

What will Obamacare mean for 2014?

Leaders of the Guild, mailers and pressmen’s union met with the Company Tuesday for a preliminary discussion of what the health care changes that take effect in 2014 could mean.

Of most immediate interest is the plan’s stipulation that large employers either provide affordable coverage or pay a penalty. The “affordability” standard is that individual premium rates may not be more than 9.5% of an employee’s total household income. The Company raised a concern that it’s possible a Guild employee could meet that threshold. If an employee did and sought to buy coverage through a state-based health insurance exchange, an employer could face a penalty of $3,000 per employee who receives the federal subsidy.

The health plan administrator, Rowlands and Barranca, said some employers may choose to offer multiple choices so that at least one of them meets the standards.

All of this discussion was interesting but changes may be made before the plan takes effect or its effective dates could be changed. The Guild and other unions appreciated the information presented Tuesday, and the conversations will resume in detail in the fall when more information is known.