TRENTON — Public workers looking for the cheaper health plans promised after benefit reforms will not have those choices by October’s open enrollments, while their existing “Cadillac” plans threaten double-digit increases in premiums. Without new plans for workers, taxpayers also won’t save. New Jersey could save $6,000 a year per family for some cheaper plans, but officials charged with...
TRENTON — Public workers looking for the cheaper health plans promised after benefit reforms will not have those choices by October’s open enrollments, while their existing “Cadillac” plans threaten double-digit increases in premiums.
Without new plans for workers, taxpayers also won’t save. New Jersey could save $6,000 a year per family for some cheaper plans, but officials charged with finding savings haven’t approved them.
Both Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney promised to curb the costs of health care for union members with a set of new plans. But delays and disagreements mean those promised plans will not be ready in time for Oct. 1, the date state employees can make changes to their insurance coverage.
The panels designing the plans have not finished their work, and have no scheduled meetings next week. Once completed, the plans’ rates must be approved by a further state commission.
If state officials stick to offering last year’s benefits packages — described by Christie as “Cadillac plans” — they miss their first chance to save taxpayer dollars on public health care, a key argument proponents made in passing the controversial health reforms.
Under one option the new panel examined, insurance coverage for a family might cost up to $7,000 less. But without new options voted into place, union members who pick their plans annually starting Oct. 1, face another year of existing plans, with prices that have spiraled.
Some current plans have jumped in price by more than 12 percent annually, according to Treasury figures.
Union members, who face paying up to 35 percent of their premiums in ramped-up contributions over the next four years, argue politicians who pushed benefits reform must follow through on lowering plan costs and addressing underlying causes of prices to rise.
“With under two weeks left, it’s likely we’d only gather the existing plans, plus possibly one more,” said Wendell Steinhauer, a member representing the New Jersey Education Association on the panel specifically on school employee benefits.
“This isn’t about real affordable health care,” said Hetty Rosenstein, state director for the Communications Workers of America, who joined other union members on the state employee benefits panel.
She questioned why state officials had not committed to blockprescriptionpurchasing, a move she said would save “tens of millions of dollars.”
“If we really wanted to, we could save that much right away,” she said.
Key staff designing the new tiers of health insurance say discussions on deeper costsavings have been “in a rush,” and put off until next year.
On both panels, members have tried but failed to vote through negotiated proposals. Summer storms then intervened, halting progress, many members said.
The panel reviewing insurance plans for state employees has already missed its target deadline to reach an agreement by the summer, said Jeff Keefe, its co-chairman.
“We aimed to be done by late August,” Keefe said. “It seems we missed that goal.”
By Juliet Fletcher/Statehouse Bureau
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