CWA 1180 - News

Health and welfare benefits protected in agreement with city; Money next up for negotiations
December 2003

Municipal unions and the city reached an accord on Dec. 18 that protects benefits for 1180 members and retirees, but passes on to them increased costs. The agreement calls for a $100 per member increase in city payments to union welfare funds, which provide benefits such as drug cards, dental and optical coverage, legal services and more.

"This was a painful but necessary exercise," said Local 1180 President Arthur Cheliotes. "The agreement we had with the city called for contributions at a certain level, and when the costs exceeded those contributions, we needed to do something to save the overall plans."

With an agreement covering health and welfare benefits now in place, union and city negotiators can now work on hammering out an agreement covering wages.

The agreement saves the City $100 million in health care costs while rescuing the PICA program providing psychiatric, injectable, chemotherapy and asthma drugs for 500,000 city workers and retirees, which faced bankruptcy. A new co-pay structure will provide an additional $30 million for the program, which costs an estimated $140 million a year.

After months of wrangling, the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC)—the umbrella organization of city unions that coordinates bargaining over health and welfare benefits—hammered out the $100 million agreement with Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley.

CWA 1180 President Cheliotes sits on the steering committee of the MLC, which is chaired by teachers union President Randi Weingarten.

A major achievement of the health care agreement is that members will remain among the few groups in the nation whose health care package does not include a premium contribution. More than a year ago, as the city faced a $6 billion deficit, the administration had pressed for substantial premium co-payments to be deducted from members' paychecks and demanded $600 million in benefit givebacks.

The agreement includes a new $35 annual "administrative" fee for union welfare benefits. Members will pay the fee through a pre-tax payroll deduction. Retirees will pay through a deduction from pension checks.

Under the agreement, beginning April 1, coverage of chemotherapy and asthma drugs will be transferred back to GHI CBP from PICA, which will introduce co-pays of $5 for generic drugs, $15 for brand-name drugs on a preferred list and $35 for non-preferred drugs. Currently, the only co-pay for PICA is a $6 charge for non-generic psychotropic and injectable drugs.

Also effective April 1, the following changes in out-of-pocket expenses for GHI/Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan will be introduced:

The primary care office visit co-pay will rise from $10 to $15.
The specialist co-pay will go from $10 to $20.
The diagnostic service co-pay will go from $10 to $15.
There will be a 25 percent co-pay on non-mandated in vitro fertilization services.
The non-participating provider annual deductible will rise from $75 to $200 for individuals and will remain at $500 for families.
The hospital inpatient co-pay will increase from $300 per admission with an annual maximum of $750 from the current $200 co-pay with a $500 maximum.
The emergency room co-pay will go from $25 to $50.

The benefits of Medicare-eligible retirees in the GHI/Blue Cross Senior Care program will also be modified. Effective April 1, the medical deductible will rise from $100 to $150 and the hospital inpatient admission co-pay will go from $200 to $300 per admission as the maximum rises from $500 to $750.

The agreement also expands the TransitChek program to include a debit card, which will permit participants to vary their monthly payments and allow them to use the benefit for railroad transportation and a wider range of ground transportation than is currently available.

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