LAWRENCE COUNTY Union refuses health plan
Employees rejected the new health plan because it would exclude UPMC doctors and hospitals.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County is facing a budget crunch set off by employees who refuse to take on a new health-care plan.
County officials had anticipated saving about $100,000 next year by switching to Health Assurance from Select Blue. However, employees of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 85 are refusing to accept the Health Assurance plan, officials said.
Commissioner Ed Fosnaught said commissioners are looking for ways to make up that anticipated $100,000 savings, and it could mean layoffs.
"I am personally committed to not only finding that $100,000, but finding other ways to further reduce the burden on the taxpayers. There are several ways to do that. One of them is a reduction in staff," Fosnaught said.
County commissioners have proposed a 2-mill tax increase for 2002. However, commissioners have said they are looking for ways to eliminate that tax increase before they adopt the new budget Dec. 31. Before Tuesday, they had not talked about employee layoffs.
Union's decision: AFSCME rejected the new health-care plan, despite a meeting Monday at which a majority of the 25 people in attendance agreed to take it, said Bob Calvin, AFSCME union representative.
Calvin said he received numerous telephone calls after that meeting complaining about the new health-care plan, and he decided to reject it.
"There wasn't adequate notification by the county for the switch and only 40 percent of the employees had a voice in the decision [on Monday]. It became evident that a majority of the employees did not want to make a change," Calvin said.
AFSCME has 60 members representing nine county departments -- the offices of the controller, treasurer and assessor; and maintenance, planning, voter registration, data processing, veterans affairs, switchboard, mental health-mental retardation and children and youth services departments.
The new plan would prohibit employees from using UPMC hospitals and require some people to switch doctors, Calvin said.
Before receiving notification that the union would not accept the new health-care plan, Fosnaught criticized employees at a meeting Tuesday for their complaints about the new health plan.
"There was a serious effort on our part to reduce the cost to the taxpayers because the taxpayers are the ones paying for this health insurance," Fosnaught said. "To those people who are unhappy about it, I would tell them that there are some people in this county with no health insurance."
Commission vote: Commissioners voted Tuesday to switch employee health coverage to Health Assurance. They said the county was facing an 18 percent increase with Select Blue. Fosnaught said they will rescind that vote at the next commissioner's meeting.
Susan Quimby, county human resources director, said the Health Assurance plan was identical to the Select Blue plan, except for the exclusion of UPMC hospitals and doctors and some changes in the prescription drug plan.