MAHONING COUNTY Officials are surprised by co-pay

Officials say the copayment is needed, but they would have liked advance notice.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County officials say they were blindsided when county commissioners hit them with an employee health-care copayment this week.
"It was a big surprise," said Engineer Richard Marsico. "They didn't even talk to us about it."
Commissioners voted Thursday to implement a 10-percent copayment for health insurance premiums for all nonunion employees and for all employees outside the general fund. It's expected to generate about a $300,000 annual savings.
They'll also start trying to negotiate a similar copayment into union contracts.
Won't challenge it
Marsico, who is not funded by the general fund, said he's not sure commissioners have the authority to force such a payment on another elected official's staff, but said he doesn't intend to challenge them.
"I realize it's necessary," he said. "Health-care costs have gotten out of sight."
Prosecutor Paul Gains said he'd have to research Marsico's question of the commissioners' authority to implement the plan on other departments.
Other elected officials whose employees are affected also said they understand that the copayment is needed, but wish commissioners would have warned them it was coming.
Asked for cuts
Commissioners have asked department heads to cut their budgets for next year because of waning general fund revenue. The 2003 general fund budget is about $10 million less than the budget for this year.
"The commissioners aren't making up this problem," said Judge James C. Evans of common pleas court. "They've got a monetary problem and we have to have some cooperation to get out of it."
He said judges, like other officials, were not told of the move in advance.
"Certainly, we would liked to have been notified," he said. "It's tough to take a bite like that."
County Administrator Gary Kubic said officials should have known the move was coming eventually. Ohio Auditor Jim Petro recommended the 10-percent copayment as part of a performance audit of county government earlier this year, he said.
"They're complaining that we didn't call them or send them a memo, but that wouldn't have changed anything," Kubic said. "We want them to focus on cutting their budget by 20 percent and living within that amount."
He said there's no good time to tell people that they have to start paying for insurance, and that doing so in advance would only have prompted "unnecessary bantering" over the issue.
"They ought to worry more about where the money will come from to make up for Judge Dellick's court order," Kubic said.
Judge Theresa Dellick of juvenile court has ordered commissioners to provide her with about $6.9 million next year, but they've budgeted her only $4.6 million. If she sues them and wins, other departments will have to be cut deeper, Kubic said.
Recorder Ron Gerberry said the copayment is "probably something that should have been done a long time ago," though he said it came as a surprise to him.
"If I hadn't gone to the [commissioners] meeting Thursday, I wouldn't have known about it until I read the paper the next day," Gerberry said.
bjackson@vindy.com