Organized Labor's letter to Speaker Dillon's regarding his health insurance proposal

You can find the letter here that organized labor sent to Speaker Dillon this week regarding his proposal to pool health insurance benefits for public sector employees.

Demand Speaker Dillon provide facts on his plan

By now, you are seeing all kinds of articles and stories about Speaker Dillon's proposed plan to place all public employee into a statewide health care plan. The results of this plan would slash your health coverage and strip your rights to bargain about them. His proposal is anti-union, anti-collective bargaining and anti-public school employee. He maintains his idea could save up to $900 million, but his numbers don’t add up and he won’t provide information or legislation to back up his claims.

This plan has gotten a lot of press – and MEA has been at the heart of this fight for the health care that keeps you and your family safe. But to win this debate, we continue to need your help in getting the facts out and ensure that your legislators in Lansing understand how strongly we oppose the Speaker’s scheme (which is nothing more than a PR stunt to fuel his run for governor).

What are the facts?

• During the past three years, Michigan’s school employees have already saved taxpayers more than $700 million in health insurance costs by accepting lower cost health coverage or paying more out of pocket for copays and premiums.
• Through salary and wage concessions during the past three years, Michigan school employees have saved taxpayers an additional $200 million. That’s almost a billion dollars in savings for Michigan taxpayers paid for by public school employees alone. And state and municipal employees are giving in huge numbers as well.
• In order to save $900 million, Speaker Dillon's plan would have to massively cut school employee health care premiums – some by as much as half. That's not efficiency or a small trim – that's gutting the health insurance of thousands of Michigan workers and their families.
• Savings can’t come from efficiency alone. In fact, research shows that once you get more than 20,000 people in a health care pool, there are no more cost savings to be gained – and virtually all public employees are already in pools bigger than that.
• As taxpayers, this isn’t a savings to you – it’s simply a cost shift that attempts, yet again, to balance the budget on your back.
• Dillon’s plan will eliminate any local control over costs and benefits. Why should we strip local school districts and local governments of the ability to collectively bargain with employees to make decisions that are right for their communities?
• Health care is a national problem that requires a national solution – one that our leaders in Washington are working on right now. For the first time, Washington is on the verge of actually controlling the cost of health care and expanding coverage to all Americans. Speaker Dillon’s plan does neither.

Your legislators in Lansing need to hear these facts. They need to stand up and demand that the Speaker provide details and legislation to back up his claims. They need to defend the health care and bargaining rights of half a million Michigan public workers and their families.

Take time to contact your legislators and communicate the points above.

Speaker Dillon's Health Plan: No winners, only losers

Speaker Dillon released a plan last week to create a statewide health care plan for all public employees. It promises savings through the creation of a health care system managed by the state that eliminates the ability of local school districts and school employees to bargain these benefits.

Who loses under this plan?

• Public school employees have already delivered millions in savings by accepting lower salaries, cuts to their benefits and sharing in the cost of health care. In the 9G/H office, many locals have already shifted their insurance from 5/10 prescription copays to 10/20 prescription copays. This change in prescription copays saved the districts almost 10% in health care premiums.
• Public employees have taken reductions in pay and benefits, just like every other taxpayer. State mandated financial reports show that the portion of school revenue that goes to employee compensation has been decreasing.
• Public employees are taxpayers. This does not save them anything. It merely shifts the costs and burdens to them.
• This plan attempts to shift control over schools from the local communities to the politicians in Lansing. If Lansing assumes control over health care benefits, it will be another example of how local school districts have lost control over another portion of their operations. If Lansing continues to take control from school districts, there will be no need for local school boards and many administrators.

So who wins? Not taxpayers, public employees, or local communities. Is this political maneuvering by Speaker Dillon in an attempt to run for Governor in 2010? Should the health care benefits of 400,00 public employees be sacrificed for the political aspirations of one person?

Speaker Dillon's plan is a distraction from what should be the focus: passing a budget that moves Michigan in a positive direction. Let our national leaders focus on health care reform.