MTA opposes House proposal on state employee health premiums

The House has unveiled a proposal in its FY04 state budget to significantly increase the cost of state employees' group health insurance by raising employees premiums from the current level of 15%. They create a 5-tiered system in which employees pay more for their health insurance based on their salary levels. The system increases state employees health insurance costs as follows:

[Note: Retirees held harmless at their current ratio (either 90/10 or 85/15)]

Under the House proposal, most of MTA's higher education members will see their health insurance premium costs increase to 20% or 25%. That would constitute an enormous increase in employee costs (33% - 67% increases).

Fighting this and other proposals to increase premium costs for our higher ed members is a top priority for MTA. We have been working intensively with a coalition of other public employee labor unions to try and defeat such increases.

MTA and the public employee unions will strenuously oppose the House plan just as we opposed the Governor's plan to increase health insurance premiums to even higher rates.