The office of Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner defended itself Tuesday against union claims it misled state employees about why premium health care plans might have to be ditched.
The administration has promised to do its best to prevent health care costs from spiking, but the problem is Obamacare could trigger an automatic increase for some public-sector plans. The state has claimed union-endorsed plans would be considered premium under the law and therefore require an extra fee. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) argues the claim is simply misleading.
“There is nothing misleading about the fact that we are virtually bankrupt and can no longer afford to pay for luxury health care plans,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “The union has made no attempt to figure out how we pay for their luxury plan or the federal penalties that will be imposed on it.”
State Director of Benefits Pam Kogler detailed the issues Dec. 11 in a letter to state workers. The letter, which was obtained by Reboot Illinois, noted that when July 2016 comes, the premium health care plans enjoyed by state employees are likely to double in costs because of the law. To mitigate the problem, the state will begin offering less expensive plans but with the same carriers and services.
“We have developed a responsible way for employees to keep their coverage or keep their low premiums,” Kelly continued. “If AFSCME does not like this plan, they have had a year to come up with a reasonable alternative that saves costs. We have heard nothing from them.”
Rauner has been in a perpetual labor dispute since taking office Jan. 12. While he was able to eventually reach an agreement with most public sector unions, AFSCME has remained one of the more adamant holdouts. The union has dismissed what it calls misleading claims.
“It’s extremely misleading and disingenuous,” AFSCME Deputy Director Mike Newman told The State Journal-Register. “They had proposed until our last bargaining session to double employees costs in (the current) fiscal year. That proposal is now off the table because the state insisted on such outrageous demands for so long that it is now too late to be able to implement changes in this fiscal year.”
Newman also asserts there are no plans that are less expensive. He notes the state had no choice but to keep existing plans in place for the upcoming year because it wasted too much time and its now too late to implement changes.
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