Officials to implement health plan co-pays

The co-payments taking effect next month are in keeping with a suggestion by the state auditor's office.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County employees will see a change in their take-home pay next year. But it's going down, not up.
County commissioners were to vote today on implementing a 10-percent co-payment for health insurance premiums for all nonunion employees and for all employees outside the general fund. That affects between 450 and 500 workers, according to Connie Pierce, human resources director.
The cost for family coverage will be about $62 a month, and the cost for single coverage will be about $27 a month, Pierce said.
The change will go into effect in January, though a specific date has not been set. Pierce said it will require coordination with the county auditor's office, which will collect the money through payroll deduction.
Pierce and county Administrator Gary Kubic said the co-payment is in keeping with recommendations made by Ohio Auditor Jim Petro in a performance audit of county government. The audit report and its recommendations were released in January.
"We're doing what [Petro] told us we needed to do to get our costs in line," said Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock.
Looking ahead
Commissioners have said next year's budget will be extremely tight because of stagnant sales tax revenue and other losses of income. They've asked officials to cut their budgets by 20 percent from this year's levels.
Robert Rupeka, common pleas court administrator, said he became aware of the plan only after seeing it on the agenda for today's commissioner meeting.
"I can't imagine this is going to be a popular thing among the employees," Rupeka said. "But I can certainly understand the commissioners' position. They are facing a tough financial outlook next year."
Rupeka said he would discuss the matter with judges before commenting on the proposal. Court employees are among those who will be affected.
In June 2000, commissioners voted to assess nonunion employees a $6 monthly co-payment toward their insurance. That same amount was later negotiated into most of the county's 18 union contracts, Pierce said.
Delay in collections
However, commissioners never began actually collecting the money.
Sherlock said the holdup was that other elected officials contested the commissioners' ability to force a co-payment on employees in other departments.
That's been sorted out, and the co-payments are OK, Sherlock said.
Kubic said that in the meantime, employees agreed to pay more toward doctor's office visits, prescriptions and other health-care costs, which accounted for as much savings as the $6 co-payment would have generated.
Kubic said those unions who have accepted a $6 co-payment will also begin paying them in January. Commissioners also will begin negotiating with them to increase the co-payments to the same, or near, what the nonunion employees will pay.
Total revenue from all co-payments is expected to be about $300,000 a year, Pierce said. She said the county spent about $10 million on health care this year, up from $8.2 million last year.
"Obviously, nobody is going to be happy about it," Sherlock said. "But we've know for some time we would have to do this. I think now we are in a position where people understand why we need to do it."
bjackson@vindy.com