Unions concede health cost crisis

But say members must be protected

Jody Curran, president of the Brookline Educators Union, said it is not fair to ask town employees to take the hit for a health insurance system that is broken for everyone. (Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)

Seen on the street, Jody Curran looks mild, perhaps motherly. Chet Riley presents a friendly Irish visage and a burly former firefighter's physique.

But the two, who head the healthcare negotiating team for the town and school unions, have been targeted recently in the local press and online for causing the loss of a potential $3 million in savings to town taxpayers.

"We feel we're being vilified," said Curran, who cochairs the Public Employee Committee with Riley.

Town officials let it be known last month that the Oct. 1 deadline for joining the state's health insurance plan had passed without agreement with the unions. According to Town Administrator Richard Kelliher's office, the town could have saved about $3 million in operating costs in the fiscal 2010 budget, and employees could have saved $1 million in premiums, if the unions had agreed to join the state insurance program.

Governor Deval Patrick announced in mid-October that he would file legislation to extend the enrollment deadline to Dec. 1, and the sides have returned to the negotiating table.

But Curran and Riley said in a recent interview that they had only been able to view the town's numbers at an Oct. 2 meeting.

"It's unprecedented to go in and exchange proposals and the next day say, 'The union rejects,' " said Riley, who served 32 years in the Fire Department and has been a union leader in his retirement.

Kelliher responded in a recent interview that the Oct. 1 deadline "created time pressures, but the town felt confident that everyone had enough information to proceed with this option," in part because it would not be implemented before the fiscal year begins in July 2009 and various options could be negotiated.

The split in premium between employees and the town can be negotiated under the state program. Several other options are available, Kelliher said, but things like reimbursing copayments and deductibles, which the town has done to save on premiums, are not negotiable under the state insurance plan, he said.

Those issues could present an obstacle for union acceptance, Curran and Riley said, as well as the fact that Blue Cross is not one of the insurance options under the state program.

But they acknowledge the difficult situation the town faces, with costs rising faster than revenues, state budget cuts in the offing, and tough times threatening to cut into hotel and excise taxes, Brookline may have to shave more than town officials had initially estimated.

"We have a lot of sympathy for the taxpayers," Curran said.

Riley agreed.

"We know it may mean layoffs," he said. "We're all in this together. The financial health of the town is paramount."

But they say they won't be rushed into a plan.

"We're hiring our own consultant to review the numbers independently," Curran said.

It is not that the town's numbers are suspect, the union representatives said; they just want to double-check them.

"We're not sure $3 million is a realistic figure," Riley said. Those savings assume, he said, that the unions will take the same premium split that they have this year, under which the town picks up 75 percent and the employees pay the balance.

And the fact that the state plan can shift costs to employees - by increasing copayments or deductibles, for instance - has the unions worried.

"As a firefighter, I took thousands of people to the hospital, and most dreaded going," he said. "But that was before it cost $150," as in the state's plans.

Curran said it is not fair to ask town employees to take the hit for a health insurance system that is broken for everyone.

"We're trying to operate in this system without selling our members down the river," she said.

Riley added that insurance administration now accounts for 16 percent of premiums.

"They talk of behavior changes for patients" by raising copayments for nongeneric drugs or hospital visits, he said. "But we need a behavior change from drug companies and doctors."

The union representatives also say that they came to the town last spring to suggest that they might save on health insurance. "We suggested that they send out proposals," Curran said.

"Blue Cross was able to lower their premium increase from 13 percent to 6 percent," Riley said. "If we hadn't gone out to bid, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have happened."

Town-supplied figures released Oct. 3 to the Board of Selectmen show premium costs for all active employees rising by roughly $2.7 million using Tufts, $1.5 million using Blue Cross, $1 million with Harvard Pilgrim, and $600,000 with a west suburban collaborative. The premium costs decrease by $2.5 million in the state program.

According to the state, 22 municipalities or regional school districts have joined or are joining the state system by next July. Curran, who has been interviewing her counterparts around the state, said that for some unions that improved services and lowered costs on both sides. She and Riley say they want to make sure that is also the case in Brookline.