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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-08-16; City Council; 5164; Carlsbad City Employee Association Letterr). . CITY OF CARLSBAD AGENDA BILT., NO. 5/44 August 16, 1977 DATE : DEPARTMENT : PERSONNEL C. Atty.& C. Mgr. Subject: CARLSBAD CITY EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION LETTER, JULY 26, 1977 Statement of the Matter The Mayor and members of the City Council have received copies of a letter dated July 26, 1977 from the President of the Carlsbad City Employees' Association. This letter refers to previous correspondence to the City Manager dated May 23, 1977, wherein the Association requested consideration be given to changing the existing Medical Insurance Policy and providing experience cost data to the Association. The City Manager in a letter dated June 13, 1977, provided the experience cost data to the Association. The City Manager stipulated on July 20, 1977 that further action regarding the Association's request would not be taken until the City budget was adopted. If Council looks with favor on the Association's request, staff should be directed to collect cost data relative to modifying the present policy and report back. If the data at that time were not sufficient for a decision the Council might consider directing the City Manager to hire an insurance consultant to gather further data regarding medical insurance and return a report and recommendation to the Council. Exhibit Carlsbad City Employee Association dated May 23, 1977 City Manager letter dated June 13, 1977 Carlsbad City Employee Association letter dated July 19, 1977 City Manager letter dated July 20, 1977 Carlsbad City Employee Association letter dated July 26, 1977 Recommendation i That Council direct staff to collect cost data concerning modification to the prexent policy and report back to City Council. Council action 8-16-77 The Council directed staff to collect cost data concerning modification to the present policy and report back to the City Counci 1. CARLSBAD CITY EMPLOYEES AS- ' ,1200 ELM AVENUE CBRLSBAD, CA 92008 May 23, 1977 Mri Paul D. Bussey City Flanager 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, California 92008 The Insurance Commlttee for the City of Car $4 'lunicipal Employee's Associatfon has been investiaalinq the adequacy , of the City's Health Insurance coveraqe over: the past few months. The Committee has been-in contact w-Ith blr. Dick Mfeves, Agent for Crown Life Insurance Company, and the 'data provided by him fndtcates that the relatfve value schedules of the existinq insurance coverage is now outdated due to the fnseeased costs for hospital room and board, surqeons and axbs thes i 01 op I s t s . The increase in medical costs that have occ d since the last pblicy adjustment was made (approximately J lQ75) may cause those employees with medical claims to ahsorb increases in 13iedi- cal costs and rnw place. an additional b n those who can least afford it. The CCMEA Board of Dfrectors, in recent fan of the in- . flatt(3n1in medical costs, has concluded that increases in medfca I costs are a critical issue, and concur with the recommendation I of the Insurance Committee that this matter should be callpd to ; the attention of Management. 1 .. We are fully aware of the terms of the Mmorandum of Underntandlnq in that the present Health and Medical Insurance Policy coverage IS to remain in effect qntll June 3Q, 1973 or unt91 reneqoiiated and that renesotiatfons far a successor Memorandum of Understandlng will not be considered prior to December 1, 1977; however, it IS' felt strongly that this item should be eonsjdered by Manaaement at this time sfnce its Impact reaches every person covered by HealthiInsurance. Medlcal costs have be2n 6'scnlatina at a rapid rate since the Mal-practice issue was raised lastyear and will cotltinue to increase. Mr. Paul D. RuSSey May 23, 1977 Page 2 We are requesting at this ttme: 1) That consideratton be given ?a up-dating the City's Wedtcal Insurance Policy to brfng it Into alignment with the! existfng costs of Medical and Hospitalt- tatlon expense at the existing level, prior ta meet and conPar sessions far a successor memorandum; and 2) That wrltten in- structions be tjfven to Mr. Mfeves to release the City's work exper9 ence ref at1 ve to .Insurance so that the Insurance Cammi t tee- rnlght have access to that information to continue their research an Insurance. Me know that the present inadequacy of Hea'tth Insurance must be of as much cuncern to you as it is tu all OF the employees and hope that your response wffl be a favorable one since thls re- quest Is for thz benefit of all those covered by Health Insurance. ... 1200 ELM AVENLJE CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 Office of the City Manager June 13, 1977 Nora K. Gardiner, President Carlsbad City Employees Association City of Carlsbad TELPPHONE: (714) 729-1 181 I apologize for the delay in responding to your letter dated May 23, 1977 concerning the possibility of updating our Hea1t.h Insurance Plan. Mr. Baldwin has obtained our claims experience data and it is attached for your information. I will also bring your request for an updated plan to the City Council’s attention although I am not prepared to recommend a change at this time. I will begin investigations on our Health Plan and give consideration to the use of a consultant to help obtain the best coverage at the lowest cost if our preliminary review finds that this would be useful. PAUL D. BUSSEY “1 City Manager PDR : ldg Att. Paid Prcrnivm $72,606.16 Paid Claims 8;53,1!G5.0t? Juiy 1, 19'75 to July 1, 1376 Paid Frcnium Pald C1.a: 1.1s $71,543.55 $4:?,191.82 July I, 1976 to April 1, 1977 Paid Premium Paid Clatrns $82,862.77 $55 , 367.88 . CARLSBAD CiT\ ,VIPLOY EES ASSOCIATION 1200 ELM AVENUE CAR LSBAD, CALI FOR N I A 92008 (714) 729-1181 July 19, 1977 Mr. Paul D. Eussey City Manager 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, California 92008 Thank you for your response to my letter of May 23, I977 and the release of the City's claims experience record. Discussion was held 'by the Board of Director's of the Employee's Association at a recent meeting regarding the response in your letter dated june 13, 1977. Members of the Board feel strongly that the issue of the City's Health Insurance Plan ?:s one that needs iinmediate attention, an'd that provisions far an up-dated Health Insurance Plan should be included in the 1977-78 Budget. I have been instructed by the Boai-d of Director's to appear before the City Council to emphasize the inadequacy of the City's current Health Insurance Plan at such time as the Public Hearing is.held on the adoption of the Final Budget, unless some affirmative action is taken by Management prior to that time. Although insurance is considered a fringe benefit by both Management and Employees, it must also be recognized as a vital necessity to the well-being of the work force. The Board's direction to me is based on it's recognition of insurance necessity, the impact on a1 1 insured employees and it's recognition that insurance costs for health will continue to rise. --- - Paul D, BUSS~-* City Manager July 19, 1977 Page 2 We hope that your investigation of health insurance will not be delayed and that you will consider recommending to the City Council that the City's Health Insurance Plan be up-dated prior to the adoption of the Final Budget. NORA K. GARDINER President 1200 ELM AVENUE CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 Office of the City Manager ditp of 4CarI~bab July 20, 1977 Nora K. Gardiner, President Carlsbad City Employees Association Carlsbad, California Subject: Employee Health Insurance A review of the City's health insurance will not be made prior to the adoption of the budget. If you wish to speak to the City Council on this matter, I would suggest that you address a letter to them outlining your concerns and I will schedule you for the next regular Council meeting, or a later meeting if you prefer. City Manager PDB: ldg TELP PHONE: (714) 729-1 181 cc: Jerry Pieti Bill Baldwin CARLSBAD CITY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION 1200 ELM AVENUE CAR LSBAD, CALI FOR N I A 92008 (714) 729-1181 July 26, 1977 Honorable Mayor and 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, California 92008 Members of the City Council The City Employee's Association, on May 23, 1977, expressed its concern to the City Manager with regard to the increase in medical costs that have occurred since the last policy adjustment was made in July, 1976. Since May 23rd, as you know, Tri-City Hospital has raised it's rates for rooms from $98.00 to $114.00 for semi-private rooms, as well as increases in other medical areas. The Association has limited access to information from the City's carrier since Crown-Life Insurance Company has i tis agreement with the City of Carlsbad and not with the City Employee's Association. I am attaching the following letters for your in- formation: 1) Letter from City Employee's Associa- tion to City Manager, dated May 23, 1977 2) Letter from City Manager to Employee's Association, dated June 23, 1977 3) Letter from Emplo eels Association to the City Manager, dated July 19, f977 4) from City Manager to Employee's Association, dated July 20, 1977. Also attached is an article from the Blade Tribune, published a few weeks after our initial letter to the City Manager, which discusses the areas of increases in medical costs initiated by Tri-City Hospital which became effective July 1 , 1977. Letter As pointed out in the letter dated May 23, 1977 to the City Manager, the Employee's Association is cognizant of the terms of the Memorandum of Understand- ing but the Board of Director's would be derelict in .. =Hb n or a b 1 e May o r a n Members of the Ci ~ Council July 26, 1977 Page 2 its duties to members of the Association and city employees if it allowed medical costs to continue in- creasing, and allowed the City's Health Insurance Plan to become more and more inadequate, without expressing its concern. The financial impact of medical costs and hospitalization can be devastating with serious illness and can be a tre- mendous financial strain on the average employee, especi- ally those with families, even when there is no serious illness. The effects of these increases reaches out to every employee of the City covered under the City's Health Insurance Plan and we would appreciate your consideration of our request to up-date the City's Health Coverage to match the increases of Tri-City Hospital and that the Final Budget for Fiscal Year 1977-78 contain a provision set aside for that purpose. I realize the Council's busy schedule these days and it is not my desire to consume your valuable time by repeating the Association's concerns verbally at the Public Hearing for the adoption of the Final Budget, however, if it is the Council's desire that an oral presentation be made, I will make arrangements. Either myself or Mr. Allan Meacham, Association Vice-president, will be available at any time should the Council have any questions regarding this matter. A response from the Council as to their views, would be very much appreciated. Thank you. NORA K. GARDINER President cc: City Manager