In a previous post about the Medicare Advantage Scam I highlighted a document from OLR to the former Mayor. It went into great detail about the Health Insurance Stabilization Fund, the HISF.
In 1983 the City and its labor unions agreed to set up the HISF to equalize HIP and GHI insurance rates.
In 2005 HIP and GHI merged into Emblemhealth.
The HISF Agreement
The following is part of a section from the UFA's 2008-2010 labor contarct with the City that recites the HISF agreement:
Section 3.
A. Effective July 1, 1983 and thereafter, the City's cost for each employee and each retiree under ager 65 shall be qualized at at the community rated basic HIP/HMO plan payment rate as approved by the State department of Insurance on a category basis of individual or family e.g.the Blue Cros/GHI-CBP payment for family coverage shall be equal to the HIP/HMO payment for the family coverage.
B. If a replacement plan is offereed to employees and retirees under age 65 which exceeds the cost of the HIP/HMO equalization provided in Section 3a, the City shall not bear the additional costs.
C. The City (and other related Employers) shall continue to contribute on a City employee benefits program-wide basis the additional annual amount of $30 million to maitain the health insurance stabilization reserve fund which shall be used to continue equaliztion and protect the integrity of health insurance benefits.
The health insurance stabilization reserve fund shall be used: to provide a sufficient reserve; to maintain to the extent possible the current level of health insurance benefits provide under the Blue Cross/GHI-CBP plan; and if sufficient funds are available , to fund new benefits.
The health insurance stabilization reserve fund shall be credited with the dividends or reduced by the losses attributable to the Blue Cross/GHI-CBP plan.
Pursuant to paragraph 7 of MLC Healt benefits Agreement, notwithstanding the above in each of the fiscal years 2001 and 2002, the City shall not make the annual $35 million contributions to the health insurance stabilization fund.
It appears that this agreement violates the federal age discrimination law (ADEA - 1967) by giving a benefit to a subset of a group based only on their age. Why didn't the agreement provide equaliztion for retiree age 65 and older?
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