March 26, 2013
AFSCME Negotiators Reduce Amount State Wanted Retirees to Pay for Health Care
“LEGISLATORS OF both parties railed against ‘free’
health care for retirees, and last year—despite vigorous opposition from
AFSCME—the General Assembly passed SB1313, which requires that retirees
contribute toward the cost of their health care premiums,” said Henry Bayer, executive director, AFSCME
Council 31.
“CONTRARY TO some erroneous media reports, the
AFSCME Bargaining Committee did not ‘agree that retirees would contribute
toward their premium costs,'” Bayer said, noting that the law passed by the
General Assembly requires retirees to make premium contributions. “What the
Bargaining Committee has done is to dramatically reduce the amount that
retirees otherwise would have to pay,” Bayer said.
THE PROPOSALS that CMS wanted to impose would have
required retirees to pay as much as 20% of their pension toward their health
insurance. Under the CMS proposal, retiree premiums would have been set at $625
per month—more than $7,500 per year–for retirees with a covered spouse and a pension
in the range of $35,000. Retirees in that range on Medicare would have had to
pay $403 per month toward their State Health care
premium. Individual coverage for a retiree in that pension range would have
been set at $228 per month for those under 65 and $100 per month for those on
Medicare.
UNDER THE agreement negotiated by AFSCME, a
non-Medicare retiree with a pension annuity of $35,000 would pay $58 per month
toward premiums beginning on July 1, 2013, then $117 per month beginning July
1, 2014. A Medicare-eligible retiree in that pension range would pay $29 per
month in the first year and $58 per month in the second year of the contract.
The premium for a Medicare-eligible dependent would be $89 per month in Managed
Care and $142 per month in the Quality Care Health Plan--the same amount paid
today.
THE NEW contract also includes increases in
co-pays and deductibles for both active employees and retirees at well below
the level that the CMS was seeking.
“I KNOW very well that any increase in health
care costs will be burdensome to retirees living on fixed incomes, especially
those with smaller pensions,” Bayer said. “That’s why the union fought so hard
against efforts to drastically increase retiree health care costs. And thanks
to the long, tough battle waged by the AFSCME Bargaining Committee, those costs
will now be dramatically lower than the amounts that the State was planning to
impose.”
FOR MORE information, call (312) 641-6060.
APAC Elections Coming
APAC REPRESENTS close to 4,000 Academic Professionals
on campus and advises University Administration, reviews policy, represents APs
on search committees, voices concerns regarding APs to the Chancellor, and
plays an active role in professional development efforts at UIC. APAC is
comprised of 15-to-18 APs, elected for a three-year term. Approximately
one-third of the APAC seats are up for election this year.
NOMINATION MATERIALS for APAC seats can be obtained by
e-mailing Ahlam Al-Kodmany at
ryyan@uic.edu. Complete the nomination petition, including a personal statement
and the name and signature of ten endorsers who are APs. Fully completed petitions
must be received by noon on Friday, April 5. Send your completed packet for
APAC to Ahlam Al-Kodmany, Institute
for Health Research and Policy, MC 275. For information, e-mail ryyan@uic.edu.
ELECTION BALLOTS will be available on the APAC website
https://sites.google.com/site/uicapac/about-apac/join-apac.
IGPA Examines State’s Fiscal Health
PUBLISHED EVERY year, The Illinois Report presents nonpartisan analysis of public policy
issues facing Illinois.
“I THINK you will be particularly
interested in our chapter on the fiscal health of the State,”
said Kelsey McCoy, Communication
Specialist, IGPA. “The authors found that the combination of increased
income taxes, large cuts in spending, and the effect of a gradually improving
economy will decrease the deficit to an estimated $4.9 billion in FY2013 and a
projected $1.6 billion in 2014. They also demonstrate that:
- Holding Medicaid expenditures to the rate of
inflation would decrease spending by $3 billion by 2020.
- Avoiding getting farther behind on pension
liabilities would cost an extra $1 billion to $2 billion for each of the
next 10 years.
Shared Governance
 |
Larry R. Faulkner,
President Emeritus, University of Texas at Austin, will discuss effective
governance.
|
APAC Meetings Scheduled
ALL APs are
invited to the monthly APAC meeting at 12:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of
the month. Meetings are held either in Room 5175 of the College of Medicine
Research Building, 909 S. Wolcott, or Room 2750 of University Hall on the East
Campus. Next meeting is April 10 in Room 5175 of the College of Medicine
Research Building. For information, call (312) 996-0306.
AP RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
THE STATE Universities Retirement System (SURS)
is offering a variety of seminars and webinars in upcoming months. To view the
description and dates for each seminar/webinar go to http://www.surs.org/seminars-webinars.
Registration is required.
UPCOMING TOPICS are:
- For new hires: Plan Choice Webinar Tier II--Looking Down The Road: Choosing Your Retirement Path.
- For new or current self-managed plan (SMP) members:
Self-Managed Plan Webinars--Navigating The Self-Managed
Plan (SMP).
- For pre-retirement personnel: Understanding Your
SURS Benefits – Webinar Tier I.
THE WEBINARS listed above
are approved for Academic Professionals and are events under Civil Service Policy and Rules, Rule
11.12. Employees may be released from work to attend, University
operations permitting, and subject to prior supervisor approval.
THE FULL-DAY pre-retirement
seminars/webinars listed below are not approved events for excused time;
therefore, employees who attend during scheduled work hours must obtain prior
approval from theirs supervisor and use leave time in accordance with
University policy:
- Retirement Education Seminars for Traditional and
Portable Plans in Champaign.
- Retirement Education Seminars for Traditional and
Portable Plans in Naperville.
- Self-Managed Plan Pre-Retirement Seminars/Webinars.
BENEFIT BEAT
EMPLOYEES
ARE eligible for a
number of discounts on auto purchases and auto rental.
SOME
BUSINESSES provide a
discount code that you can use on their website, or provide over the
phone. Other businesses require you to contact them directly for the
discount - in order for them to identify the discount you qualify for, you may
need to let them know:
- You are a University of Illinois
at Chicago employee
- You are a State of Illinois
employee
- You are a government employee
- You are employed at "Big
Ten" University
- You are staff/student/faculty at
the University
AUTO PURCHASE deals are available from Ford, https://www.fordpartner.com/,
Discount Code UNVIL, through the Ford X Plan, and from GM, https://www.gmsupplierdiscount.com/,
discount code 822262, through the GM supplier discount.
AUTO RENTAL deals are available through Avis, http://www.avis.com/, discount code A/B 124900; Budget, http://www.budget.com/, discount code U009100; and Hertz, http://www.hertz.com/, discount code 215471, under the Big Ten discount program.
FOR
MORE information, see https://sites.google.com/site/uicapac/resources/employee-discounts.
AUTO RENTAL deals are available through Avis, http://www.avis.com/, discount code A/B 124900; Budget, http://www.budget.com/, discount code U009100; and Hertz, http://www.hertz.com/, discount code 215471, under the Big Ten discount program.
WEBSITES TO KNOW
INFORMATION ABOUT contacting State legislators can be found at the APAC site at https://sites.google.com/site/uicapac/resources/contact-district-officials.
THE CONTINUING CRISIS
Editor’s
Note: “The Continuing Crisis” is a section
of APAC News which links to news pertinent to the State budget crisis and other
financial matters as they affect the University and Academic Professionals. These
news outlets are not affiliated with or endorsed by APAC.
JUDGE RULES retirees can be required to pay for health insurance benefits. See State Journal-Register, March 19: http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1037524811/Judge-dismisses-lawsuits-challenging-retiree-health-insurance-premiums.
JUDGE RULES retirees can be required to pay for health insurance benefits. See State Journal-Register, March 19: http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1037524811/Judge-dismisses-lawsuits-challenging-retiree-health-insurance-premiums.
DECLINE IN State support likely to continue. See UIC News, March 20: http://news.uic.edu/higher-ed-likely-to-face-decline-in-state-support.
HOUSE
PASSES bill that would raise the retirement age to 67
for those hired after January 1, 2011.
The bill would also change how cost-of-living adjustments are handled
for pensioners. See Progress Illinois, March
21: http://www.progressillinois.com/news/content/2013/03/21/illinois-house-passes-pension-reform-legislation-focusing-colas?utm_source=PI+Extra+3.21.13&utm_campaign=PI+email+3.21.13&utm_medium=email.
Vol. 6, No.3 March 2013
ISSN 1946-1860
Editor: William S. Bike
Staff: Lucia Gonzalez, Gail Mansfield, Monica M. Walk
Vice Chair: Ahlam Al-Kodmany
Chair: Michael Moss
Secretary: Mary Berta
Treasurer: Virginia Buglio
Web Chair: Jeff Alcantar
Web Chair: Jeff Alcantar
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