Your WSNA Local Unit Officers, WSNA Nurse Representatives, and WSNA Legal Counsel; along with Tacoma General representatives/officers met with hospital administration on Thursday, October 27 and Tuesday, November 1 to negotiate the proposed changes to your health-care benefits.
We had a few successes during this process, but we were unable to realize the full gains that we knew were important to you and the entire bargaining unit.
Despite the team’s best efforts to negotiate these changes, the employer plans to unilaterally implement their health care plan. The hospital announced that the MultiCare 2012 Open Enrollment packets will be produced and sent out Monday, November 7, 2011. We are studying what further action we may take. In the meantime, complete any necessary forms in the MultiCare 2012 Open Enrollment packet and return them as instructed to MultiCare before the deadline.
If you refer to the letter from Bill Greenheck that WSNA sent you about the proposed changes, the information has changed as follows:
Medical for Standard PPO Plan:
The deductible will increase from $400/$800 to $600/$1200. They would not entertain our proposal for $500/$900.
Maintain coinsurance for all network providers at 10%.
Increase out of pocket maximum from $2500/$3600 to $2600/$4600. They would not entertain our counter proposal of $2600/$4000.
Prescriptions:
Standard PPO: Continue to maintain 10% for all generics, including non-MHS pharmacies. Increase brand name coinsurance to 40% if purchased at non-MHS pharmacy. It remains 20% coinsurance for brand names purchased at MHS pharmacy.
There will be some changes to pharmacy clinical recommendations that will be further explained in your enrollment packet.
Out of pocket maximum will change to $1500/$3000 for pharmacy costs.
Monthly Medical Premiums:
Maintain $15 self only premium for those who participated in the wellness assessment. For the nurses that did not complete the assessment, self-only premiums will rise to $45. The costs were slated to rise in 2012 to $30 for self who participated in wellness and to $60 for those who did not participate in wellness. They would not entertain our proposal to leave all bargaining unit members at $15 self-only premium. The rationale is that the promised wellness plan did not materialize, and there were major technical difficulties where many nurses were unsure if their assessments actually were received by the appropriate parties.
For the Standard PPO, there will be $30 increases in health premiums $30 for Employee/Children, Employee/Spouse (DP), and Employee/Family. They would not entertain our proposal not to increase the premiums despite the fact that the hospital has realized a net gain of approximately 2.25% to 4% in health care total premium costs.
For the High-Deductible medical premiums, they backed off on the $30 premium increases for dependents. The premiums remain at the 2011 cost.
Increase the employer contribution to health savings account for high-deductible plan from $500/$1000 to $1000/$2000. They amended that to $750/$1500.
The maximum out of pocket for high-deductible will increase from $3000/$6000 to $3500/$7000.
