Guild members approved the health care rate for 2013 by a 59-2 margin.

A little more than 120 members are on the company insurance, so the vote represents about half the membership who take company health care. Some colleagues were out sick or off Wednesday and notified the union leadership that they could not make the vote.

The members will pay $43.90 a week, up $6.14 or 16.3 percent, from the current $37.76. The company had originally started with a proposal that called for increasing the weekly payment by more than $9. By questioning the numbers, the union was able to reach an agreement for a lower rate.

The increase will take effect with the pay period that begins Monday, January 21.

The Blue Shield plan will remain unchanged, with the same $750 deductible paid by employees and the same 90/10 split when employees reach the top of the company share of the deductible. (That is $2,000 for a single person, $4,000 in a family plan.)

The Company also agreed to provide a monthly report of how much is paid out in reimbursements and to start the conversation on health care by October 1. Those two steps will help the Guild to prepare earlier for this discussion next fall.

The Guild and Company met Thursday to continue discussing health care costs for 2013.

The parties agreed to go off the record in hopes of working out their differences. They will meet again Tuesday.

The Guild will provide details as soon as we are able.

Guild negotiators continue to bargain over health care costs for 2013, and those talks will now continue into January. Employees will still have health coverage with Blue Shield.

The Company responded to the Guild’s proposal of Wednesday by moving only slightly. The Company wants members to pay 23 percent of the costs of reimbursing its share of the deductible. The Company originally estimated that number at $600,000, and on Thursday dropped it to $585,000 while admitting that number is still inflated.

The Times Union also proposed language that said if employees are overcharged, it would reimburse the excess charges but not until September 1, 2014.

Guild negotiators said that amounted to a 21-month, interest-free loan from employees to the Company. The Guild also said the reimbursement raised a host of questions including whether the company would repay people who had left the newspaper, people hired midyear, and whether taxes would be withheld from any payment.

The Company attorney responded to the questions by threatening to withdraw that part of the proposal — allowing the Company to overcharge members and pocket the money. If the estimate proved too low, the Company would want members to pay more.

“Our proposal was much simpler,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “Members would pay a share of actual costs. That way, there is no need to worry about what to do with any overpayment or shortfall.”

The most recent year for which all claims are in is 2011. The Company had said $515,000 was reimbursed that year.  On Thursday, the Company said it missed a bill and the number was $528,134. The Guild asked for documents supporting the new number.

The union withdrew its proposals to cap increases in future years. Both parties kept the proposal of phasing in the added costs at 50 percent for 2013, but the Guild dropped its proposal to phase the rest in at a rate of 10 percent a year in subsequent years. The Guild kept its proposal to have the company share in the first $750 of medical costs, and we lowered a proposed signing bonus for agreeing to the changes to $750.

During the discussion, the Company said it gives exempt employees who have a Flexible Savings Account a $250 annual contribution. Guild members are being asked to accept sharing the health care costs the same way managers do.

The parties agreed to meet again Thursday, January 3. The Guild was represented by O’Brien, Treasurer Marianne Mahr, Secretary Mark Hempstead, Chief Steward Brian Nearing and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil.

The Newspaper Guild of Albany presented a new proposal today to the Company on health care for 2013.

The impact would be that members would pay $8.09 more a week, a 22 percent increase. Members would pay $45.05 a week rather than the current $37.76.

That is only slightly lower than the $9.24 increase the Company had proposed. But under the Guild proposal, members would also start getting reimbursed 77 percent of their costs for the first $750 of medical care.

(UPDATE: After we presented our proposal, the Company asked for time to review it. We will meet again at 11 a.m. Thursday.)

The union proposed its members would pay 23 percent of the Company reimbursement.

The Company estimated the annual reimbursement at $600,000, but data the Guild sought shows that number is much higher than the Company has ever paid out. In 2010, the company paid $452,693.85 in reimbursements. A year later, that amount rose to $515,060.56.

As of December 10 this year, the company has reimbursed $463,701.99.

Rather than charge members for a hypothetical — and inflated — estimate, the Guild proposed using the actual numbers. We proposed using the 2011 year figure of $515,060.56.

To make that calculation accurate, the union proposed determining the cost per person by using the actual number of workers under the plan that year, which was 320. This way, Guild members aren’t being asked to pay a portion of benefits for people who have left the newspaper or who gave up getting their insurance through the Times Union.

Both the company’s and employee’s shares would be phased in under the union proposal at 50 percent the first year and 10 percent more a year each year after. Beginning in 2014, the union proposal calls for an annual cap of 8 percent in increases.

The union also continued to propose a $1,000 signing bonus in return for the definition of total costs being changed.

The Guild also continued to insist the Company pay for its chosen plan administrator. The union asked for documents breaking down the costs of the firm and showing what it does, information the company refused to provide.

The Guild and the Company will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday to continue their discussions on health care costs for 2013.

The meeting will be held in the upstairs conference room. Members can attend on their own time.

Guild President Tim O’Brien and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil are in the union office today, reviewing the company’s answers to an information request and building the proposal the union will present tomorrow.