Municipal
Labor
Committee Settlement
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On
January 11, 2001, the Municipal Labor Committee ratified an agreement with
the City of New York on health, welfare and payroll benefits. As a member
of the Municipal Labor Committee, the PSC participates in this agreement
and receives substantial benefits for its members.
PSC
President Barbara Bowen said, “This is a major advance for the PSC:
Steve London and I, assisted by Mohamed Yousef, took an active role in the
negotiations, working with other union leaders to negotiate for the funds
our members need for health and welfare.
The PSC under its previous leadership had seen a growing deficit
develop in the Welfare Fund; the MLC settlement in which we participated
is an important step toward ending that problem.”
President Bowen continued, “The PSC took another
important step toward securing full funding for our Welfare Fund: the
City, the State and the CUNY Administration agreed, as part of the MLC
settlement, to negotiate with the PSC and the Municipal Labor Committee on
inclusion of our adjuncts in the City health plan and Welfare Fund
contributions.
We look forward to ending the inequity that has existed for our
part-time employees, alone among public-sector workers: they are currently
excluded from the City health plan and Welfare Fund contributions.
We thank Randi Weingarten, Chair of the MLC, and all the MLC
members for the solidarity they expressed with us and the support they
gave to resolving this inequity.”
Terms of
the Agreement
Welfare Fund Payments
- Immediate
payment--$125 per full-time active and retiree member to the fund and
$50 per full-time active and retiree member to support the Welfare
Fund drug benefit.
- July
1, 2001-a second payment of $100 per active full-time and retiree
member to the fund and $75 per full-time active and retiree member to
support the Welfare Fund drug benefit.
- The city’s annual contribution rate per full-time active and retiree member will permanently increase by $200 per year, effective at the end of the new contract.
Prescription and Drug Therapy Benefits
- Injectable
and psychotropic medications will be covered by all basic city
health plans. There will be no co-pay for generics and a $6 co-pay for
brand prescriptions.
- Asthma
and chemotherapy coverage at no co-pay will be expanded to all
basic city health plans. (Currently only GHI covered these medications
with “0” co-pay.)
Mental
Health Benefits (for active members and non-Medicare retirees)
- GHI—Unlimited
visits for in-network mental health services (as of January 1, 2001).
Effective March 1, 2001, the optional rider (non-network services)
will consist of a $100 deductible, reimbursement of up to 50% of the
network allowance and a maximum of 30 visits per year. (The lifetime
maximum benefit of 60 visits has been eliminated.)
- HIP-HMO—In-patient alcohol and substance abuse rehabilitation treatments for up to 30 days with no co-pay. The visit limit under the outpatient mental health program is increased from 20 to 60. The co-payment for each visit shall be increased from $5 to $10.
GHI panel
- Money has been allocated to expand the GHI panel of participating doctors to targeted areas in out-of-state communities, like Florida. In addition, as of July 1, 2001, there will be an increase in the GHI Manhattan Participating Schedule. The number of physicians participating in GHI in New York City should increase with this rise in their payment rates.
Expansion of Transit Check Program
- The City’s current program will be extended to City University of New York employees.
Establishment of College Spending Accounts
- This program will be developed pursuant to IRS regulations. This will allow contributions through payroll deductions.
Merchant Discounts
- A Labor-Management Committee will be established to develop discount programs for items such as home computers.
The
agreement is financed in part by payments from the Health Insurance
Stabilization Fund, a fund jointly managed by the City and the unions,
established in the 1980s to support the cost to unions of rising
healthcare expenses. The
Stabilization Fund had accumulated over $500 million. Through this
agreement, the City is allowed to forego its usual payments of $35 million
into the Fund for the next two years, and to receive direct payments from
the Fund, for a total value of $170 million.
Because of the funds the City will receive from the Stabilization
Fund, it has agreed to withdraw from its bargaining with individual unions
the demand that each union demonstrate “productivity savings” for the
City as part of its own negotiations.
In addition, the MLC won agreement from the City to contribute new money to the unions: the increase of $200 annually per member to the union welfare funds, and the substantial savings to our members on costs for prescription drugs. These benefits will be of continuing value to everyone represented by the PSC.