NYS Health Foundation Releases Positive Report on Health Reform

“Health Reform Works: How the Affordable Care Act Is Already Making a Difference for New Yorkers”

By creating new options for health coverage and building on existing sources of public and private health coverage, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will give many people an opportunity to access affordable and comprehensive coverage. Important provisions of the health reform law have already taken effect, benefiting millions of New Yorkers as a result.

A new NYSHealth-funded publication by Health Care for All New York and the Community Service Society shares the personal stories of families, small business entrepreneurs, senior citizens, and students across New York who have already been helped by the ACA. The report offers a window into the impact that the new law has had on New Yorkers and shows how changes to the health insurance system can improve the lives of those dependent upon it.

ACCESS the report.

Montefiore Nurses Win New Contract, January Strike Averted

2,300 Bronx nurses make gains on staffing, wages, affordable health care

BRONX, Dec. 30, 2011 – The New York State Nurses Association has successfully negotiated a new, four-year contract with Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

The 2,300 professional registered nurses who work in the hospital made important advances in safer patient staffing, affordable health care, and fair wages, comparable to their colleagues at other New York City unionized hospitals. The nurses had given the hospital a strike notice for Jan. 10, 2012, because of their staffing concerns.

“Our members at Montefiore stood together to get a contract that’s good for our patients, our nurses and our families,” said Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, president of the Montefiore’s Moses Division bargaining unit. “The nurses give their very best every day to patients, and deserve a contract that treats them and their work with dignity and respect.”

The contract will provide about 125 new RN positions, salary increases of 7.5 percent over four years, a $750 lump sum payment on ratification and affordable prescription benefits.

The strike notice for Tuesday, Jan. 10, has been withdrawn.

The nurses will vote on the proposed contract in January.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

New York State Unions File Federal Lawsuit Over Retiree Health Increase

Cuomo Administration unilateral action hits retired state employees hard

ALBANY — A coalition of CSEA, PEF, UUP, NYSCOPBA, NYSTPBA, NYSPIA, and
AFSCME Council 82, unions representing virtually all of New York State employees have filed
lawsuits in federal court challenging the Cuomo Administration’s unilateral increase in the
percentage of health insurance contributions required of state retirees.

The legal challenge applies to changes made by the administration this fall and covers state
employees who have retired and seen their share of health insurance premium increase beyond
the level at which they retired.

Retirees have long contributed 10 percent of individual coverage and 25 percent of family
coverage for their health insurance coverage in retirement based on the percentages included in
the state contracts when they retired.

The changes imposed by the Cuomo Administration increase the percentage of contribution 2
percent for both individual and family coverage. The changes have severe and unexpected
consequences on retired employees. The coalition of unions asserts that it is illegal for the state
to increase those rates for already retired members. The unions did not negotiate such increases.
Contrary to popular perception, most public employee retirees have contributed to their health
insurance and retirement costs over decades of service and receive only meager to modest
benefits. For example, individuals who retired prior to 1983 receive an average pension benefit
of $8,760. Those who retired between 1983 and 1990 have a retirement benefit of $13,786
annually.

Out of their fixed income, retirees must pay rising food, fuel, and gas prices along with all other
living costs. A retiree on fixed income covered under the Empire Plan would pay about $150
more annually for individual coverage and about $460 more for family coverage. Costs for other
health insurance options would vary according to the plan. Making matters worse, the Cuomo
Administration has indicated that it will unilaterally impose a 6 percent increase for retirees who
retire on or after Jan. 1, 2012, these changes will result in a 60 percent increase in contribution
costs for individual coverage and a 24 percent increase for dependent coverage.

All of the employee groups appealed to the Cuomo Administration not to impose this change on
retirees before its imposition. The state must now respond to the legal filing in the next month.
“CSEA is disturbed and disappointed that the Cuomo Administration can be so heartless about
imposing higher costs on people who have devoted their lives to the service of New Yorkers,”
said CSEA President Danny Donohue. “Nobody bargained for this and these increases will hit
retirees hard – it’s not right and they don’t deserve this treatment.”

“What the Cuomo Administration is trying to do is pull the rug out from under state retirees
many of whom planned their retirements based on when they felt they could afford to retire.
These decisions were based on a promise and expectation of what their health insurance costs
would be. Changing the rules after the fact is outright wrong,” said PEF President Ken Brynien.
“Our members selflessly work to protect New Yorkers in some of the most dangerous
environments in the state. They have earned these benefits, and they are entitled to the coverage
that the state agreed to when they retired,” said NYSCOPBA President Donn Rowe. “Not only is
this change unconstitutional, it’s just unfair. The Cuomo Administration should recognize its
legal obligations to its retirees and not shift its financial burdens on those least able to absorb the
hit.”

“The New York State Troopers PBA will continue to fight for the well-being of our retired
members. It is imperative that the active members of the PBA protect those members who came
before us and proudly wore the gray uniform while sacrificing so much in the name of public
safety,” said PBA President Thomas H. Mungeer.

Joseph Barrett, president of the New York State Police Investigators Association (NYSPIA),
stated: “It is unfortunate that, after risking their lives for the citizens of the State of New York
during their careers, that same State of New York now chooses to impose unprecedented health
care cost increases on its retired State Police members and the widows and widowers of its
deceased members. The State’s decision to force this cost increase on our retirees in these years
when they live on a fixed income is particularly disturbing”

“The hardworking public safety professionals of New York State are particularly outraged by the
Cuomo administration’s targeting of retirees,” said Council 82 Executive Director James Lyman.
“Council 82’s retirees are men and women who dedicated their lives to providing a safer New
York and deserve to be respected and honored for their service, rather than have the state turn its
back and break its promise to its retirees.”

Flushing Hospital Threatens to Terminate Nurses’ Health and Pension Plans

RNs to protest with informational picketing on Jan. 5

FLUSHING – Upset that management plans to stop payments to their health and pension plans, registered nurses at Flushing Hospital Medical Center are planning a protest for next week.

The RNs are currently negotiating a new contract with management and are seeking to improve their working conditions. But hospital CEO Robert Levin has refused to sign interim agreements that continue the benefit plans.

To show management they won’t be intimidated, the nurses will conduct an informational picket from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, in front of the hospital at 4500 Parsons Blvd.

The current contract for the 350 nurses, who are represented by the New York State Nurses Association, will expire on Dec. 31, 2011. The interim agreements would guarantee continuation of both for six months after contract expiration while the parties continue to negotiate. Health benefits continue 90 days after expiration whether the interim agreement is signed or not. But their pension plan would end on Jan. 1, 2012.

The RNs say that comprehensive health and pension coverage is necessary because RNs are likely to suffer from health problems developed while on the job – such as neck and back injuries, high stress, and risk of exposure to contagious disease – and often cannot continue working until the average retirement age of 65.

Quality health coverage is also a key element in encouraging RNs to come to Flushing Hospital and convincing experienced nurses to stay. Improving recruitment and retention, in turn, is crucial to improving RN-to-patient staffing. Studies have shown that hospitals with better staffing have better patient outcomes.

CEO Levin has also put proposals on the table that would cost each nurse $150,000 in lost lifetime pension benefits, while offering no wage increase for three years.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

NYSNA, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Reach Agreement-Strike Notice Withdrawn Pending Ratification

MANHATTAN – The New York State Nurses Association, which represents the 1,300 registered professional nurses at St.Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan, has reached a tentative agreement with hospital management.

Members will vote on the proposed four-year contract on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012.

The tentative agreement addresses the nurses’ principal concerns throughout the negotiations – affordable health care, relief for members with high prescription costs, safe staffing levels for patients and nurses, and fair wages.

With this tentative agreement, negotiations continue at two remaining major New York City hospitals – Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

An agreement was ratified by the nurses at New York-Presbyterian Hospital earlier this month.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Nurses to Strike on January 3, 2012

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Nurses to Strike on January 3, 2012

Fighting for Affordable Health Care and Fair Pay

MANHATTAN – Early Thursday morning, the registered nurses of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan filed notice with hospital representatives that they will strike at 7.30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

The 1,300 nurses – members of the New York State Nurses Association – have been working without a contract since December, 2010, and have had 25 bargaining sessions trying to reach a new agreement.

The strike notice was given during a marathon 18-hour bargaining session that ended at 4:00 a.m.

“The hospital’s response to our concerns about affordable health care did not meet our members’ needs. We are now mobilizing in the hospital for the January 3 strike,” said Nancy Kaleda, NYSNA’s bargaining director. “While we made some progress on staffing issues in the talks, the healthcare issue carries huge weight for our members and their families.”

Two other major New York City hospitals are also in the middle of intense contract bargaining — Mount Sinai and Montefiore. The Mount Sinai negotiations continue today, Montefiore talks resume next Tuesday. Those NYSNA members have also authorized strikes, but the union has not presented the strike notice yet.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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PEF Statement on SAGE Commission Recommendations

Statement of PEF President Ken Brynien on SAGE Commission Recommendations

Albany – The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) supports the concept of making government more efficient and identifying cost savings. This is supposed to be the mission of the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission (SAGE).

As a preliminary report, many of the recommendations by the SAGE Commission are lacking details. We remain concerned that without specificity surrounding the recommendations there is the potential that if implemented without safeguards in place they could lead to layoffs, increased reliance on costly contracting out and privatization, and would weaken the civil service merit and fitness system, opening the door to increased patronage and cronyism. These will cost the taxpayers more money.

We understand the need for taxpayers to get the most from their tax dollars. One of the best ways to cut costs is to combine the state’s shadow government of public benefit corporations and state authorities into state agencies; if done properly this will make them more transparent and accountable to taxpayers. So far the SAGE Commission has only scratched the surface of the hundreds of off budget public authorities.

Additionally, we would also ask the commission to examine more closely the state’s use of contractors and costly consultants who perform work state employees could do better and for less. PEF has identified potential savings of more than $300 million annually by reducing the state’s reliance on costly consultants.

There is important work to be done here. To achieve real efficiencies, New York needs to bring in its professional workers and engage them in the process by listening to their ideas.

PEF is the state’s second-largest state-employee union representing 55,000 professional, scientific and technical (PS&T) employees and other public and private employees.

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CLICK HERE TO READ THE SAGE REPORT:

Nurses Protest Private Equity Management

By Marc Bussanich, LaborPress City Reporter

Important negotiations between the NY State Nurses Association and two major medical centers in the City will occur today as both sides attempt to reach a new contract. While struggling to protect their health care benefits, NYSNA nurses joined their colleagues from National Nurses United on Park Avenue on December 20, who rallied in front of the offices of private equity firm Cerberus Capital to protest what they claim is the firm’s anti-union activity.

Mark Genovese, an NYSNA spokesman, said that the union and Montefiore, St. Lukes-Roosevelt and Mount Sinai hospitals have yet to reach an agreement on how much nurses should partly pay for their health care benefits. He explained that an arbitrator ruled that there’d be a reduction in nurses’ benefits and they’d be responsible for contributions, but that it’s up to each facility to determine how to implement the ruling.
NY nurses joined by Boston, Chicago and D.C. nursesNY nurses joined by Boston, Chicago and D.C. nurses

The nurses’ health care benefits were previously financed by their employers, but Jeanne Bernard, a spokeswoman for Mount Sinai Medical Center, said, “The fact is that nurses at Mount Sinai would be paying approximately 20 percent of the monthly cost share paid by other health care professionals at the medical center.”

But Genovese noted that nurses’ jobs are not like everybody else’s job, and there was previously an understanding among hospital employers that nurses would receive fully covered health care because of the stress and physical impairments they developed on the job.

“Nurses are at risk of exposure to contagious diseases, needle sticks and sometimes workplace violence in psychiatric wards. They suffer higher incidents of musculoskeletal injuries than construction workers. The current demands from the employers for givebacks on health care represent a shift in attitude from uprightness to one of ‘You’re on your own.’”

Genovese noted NYSNA supported the NNU rally because, “What happens in Massachusetts can very well happen in New York.”

NNU nurses attended yesterday’s protest against Cerberus Capital Management from as far away as Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts, where the company owns and operates 10 hospitals. Carl Ginsburg, an NNU spokesman, explained when a for-profit entity takes over public hospital facilities it has to essentially reimburse the state for funds the state invested in the hospital system, and provide guarantees that it’ll fulfill community health obligations.

But, apparently, Cerberus is not fulfilling its obligations. “In addition to the union, several community and consumer groups have raised new concerns that Cerberus isn’t following through on its promises that health care will be accessible to everyone in the community, the uninsured will be treated and affordability will continue to be a high priority,” said Ginsburg.

Karen Higgins, a NNU co-president and RN, said that promises have been broken. “We’re seeing bad things happen such as cuts to services and care. As nurses, we don’t like the concept of cutting services to patients so that private companies can buy, slice, dice and then flip properties for a major pay out.”

She noted that since Cerberus took over ownership of the Massachusetts facilities, service cuts have compelled nurses to actually bring from home loaves of bread and crackers for patients. In addition, a neurology unit was closed and the former unit’s patients were sent to floors where nurses aren’t trained in neurology, and almost half of the ICU staff was cut, according to Higgins.

In addition to the cuts, Higgins said the private equity company is finding any excuse to fire nurses that are proactive on behalf of patients. “By firing one of us on issues not related to union activity, they’re warning us to stop. Unfortunately, their actions are making us angrier and we’re not going to stop until they understand that patients come first.”

Gabriel Kristal, director of strategic campaigns for Massachusetts Nurses Association, said that the union isn’t necessarily opposed to private companies operating and managing hospitals as there are for-profits who listen to their nurses. “Nurses need to be involved in the decisions about the care they deliver.” However, “Cerberus wants only accountants and bean counters to make decisions.”

Karen Gavigan, a nurse for 20 years at Cerberus-owned Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, MA., said that before Cerberus took ownership, a local board of directors ran the hospital and decisions and improvements were easier to make. “When a nurse retires or leaves, we work short staff until upper management in New York makes the decision to hire or not hire a replacement.”

Cerberus Capital didn’t return phone calls for comment, but Chris Murphy, spokesman for Steward Health Care, a Cerberus affiliate, refuted the union’s claims of staff and service cuts. “Our staffing has been consistent and we’re not closing any facilities.” Rather, the company has invested thus far $100 million to build new space. “We’ve added 770,00 square feet of hospital space in the past year. We’re investing and growing our hospitals,” said Murphy.

He noted also that the essential issue is the nurses union “disagrees with our design of a new defined benefit pension.” Murphy explained that last year the company hired lawyers and actuaries to develop a pension plan within the framework it created. “We submitted the plan to the nurses and they refused it and wanted a new version that didn’t fit within our framework. We can’t give them a pension that we didn’t agree to in our contract because we can’t afford it.”

He said also the union’s actions clearly illustrates an issue around benefits and not quality as, “The day before the rally, the union told us they’d cancel the protest [at Cerberus offices on Park Avenue] if we gave them the pension they wanted.”

Key Lawmakers Urge Cuomo To Include Health Exchanges In Budget Proposal

By Laura Nahmias

Several key lawmakers hope Gov. Andrew Cuomo will re-start the process of creating health insurance exchanges in New York next month by including the stalled plan in his budget proposal.

The exchanges were a priority of Cuomo’s first legislative session, but failed in the Republican-led Senate amid lawmakers’ concerns that voting to create the exchange – part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform – could become a political liability in the 2012 elections.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a challenge to health care reform in the spring, but Sen. Jim Seward and Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, chairs of the insurance committees in their respective chambers, said they hoped the governor would not wait until then before passing the bill. The closer the state gets to presidential elections, they warned, the more politically charged the issue becomes.

“I think it’s been so identified with the president and the politics of the presidency, that they’ve avoided or not really focused on the real benefits this provides, not only in terms of benefits to small businesses, but quality of care, improving patient outcomes,” Morelle said Friday at a City & State forum on health insurance exchanges sponsored by HealthPass New York.

“My fear is that this gets played out over the next year-and-a-half, and I think that would obviously put New York in a very, very bad position,” he said.

Without a bill authorizing the insurance exchanges, the logistics of running the program, such as renting office space, or hiring staff, have been delayed. Federal law requires the exchanges be functional by Jan. 1, 2014, leaving New York with less time to make decisions. The bill passed the Assembly earlier this year, but remains stalled in the Senate.

Seward said the Republican conference decided to wait to pass the bill – which he considered soundly written – until more details came from the federal government about what services the state would be required to insure.

“In New York, let’s face it, we have a number of mandates in our policies, more than perhaps anywhere else in the country,” Seward said. If the federal government insured fewer services than New York’s broadly mandated services, the state could be liable for the cost, he said.

But that question was settled just hours after the forum, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidelines outlining essential benefits. The state could have its already mandated services covered under the federal plan, which would alleviate concerns about potential hidden costs.

The HHS guidelines set up a system whereby each state could determine its own essential benefits package, avoiding the possibility the federal government could be seen as imposing costly mandates on the states. In New York, it means people will continue to receive the same services they’ve always had, no more and no less, said Ben Geyerhahn, a Hudson TG who studies health care for the Small Business Majority.

“I think it will disappoint some consumer advocates who had hoped for more standards,” he said. “I don’t think, from a policy perspective there’s going to be a lot of change.”

Even if a bill to set up the exchange should pass in the next budget cycle, other key stakeholders voiced concerns about how it would work.

Separate exchanges that only cover small businesses, or ones that cover both small businesses and individuals could be considered under the state’s plan. And what the governor ultimately decides could have enormous financial consequences, because of the expense of covering individuals, said Margaret Moree, director of federal affairs at the Business Council of New York State.

“Everyone understands that the individual market in New York is under incredible stress,” Moree said.

Those considerations offered even more reasons for New York to authorize the exchange sooner rather than later, said Peter Newell, Health Insurance Director at the United Hospital Fund.

“I think my sense of urgency for not having legislation in place yet comes from the fact that you reach a point where … you need to have an exchange that can go out to the health plans and say, what kind of products are you going to offer? Are you going to play or not? What sort of network choices do you have?” Newell said.

“The exchange needs to get a sense of what kind of hand it’s going to be dealing to businesses and individuals who come and shop there,” Newell said, “because at the end of the day, they’re going to have a product to sell, and unless it’s a good product, people won’t buy there.”

Get the Facts: Stop the War on Public Employee Pensions

As the economic crisis rips into state and municipal budgets across the nation, the conservative campaign to dismantle public employee defined benefit pension systems has gained new life. While municipal government budgets are in trouble, most of the claims made for destroying the pension plans are based on falsehoods. Nevertheless, the attack on public employee pensions has gained ground.

It’s important for Teamsters to debunk the myths spread by those whose primary goal is to destroy the defined benefit pension system that is designed to provide them with a secure retirement.

Click here to arm yourself with the facts.

The assault on public employee pensions comes at the same time as tens of thousands of public employees are being laid off or furloughed, and with tens of thousands more facing that prospect once the federal government stimulus funding runs out.

A simultaneous wage and jobs crisis is affecting millions of Americans. With economic insecurity at an all time high, those seeking to undermine the defined benefit pension system are appealing to workers-taxpayers who do not have pensions to oppose public employee pension security.

Public Employees are not Over-Paid
Public employees have made trade-offs over the years between wages and retirement security. A recent study by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the National Institute for Retirement Security finds that state and local employees earn 11 to 12 percent less than comparable private sector workers. Even when benefits are included, total public employee compensation lags behind private sector compensation for similar work.

A study by the Center for Housing Policy finds police officers and teachers still don’t earn enough to buy a typical house in 2 out of 5 metro areas. Firefighters and librarians can’t afford a median priced home in the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago metro areas. Nationwide a school bus driver’s average wage is not enough to pay rent on a standard two-bedroom apartment.

Workers Unite!
It’s up to us to educate the general public and other union members about the truth of public employee wages and benefits. The goal of the anti-public employee movement is to divide private and public sector employees by appealing to private sector unions and workers on the basis of taxes. With wages and jobs disappearing and taxes rising, private sector employees are easy prey. Wages and jobs are eroding for private sector workers, but we shouldn’t accelerate the race to the bottom by gutting public employee pensions. Rather than fewer workers having retirement security, Teamsters believe that all workers should have retirement security. With only a small percentage of private sector workers belonging to unions, but a majority of public sector employees in unions, conservatives are now targeting the public sector for attack.

The Bottom Line
Wall Street caused the economic crisis that is the real threat to state and local governments and the retirement security of all Americans – public employees should not be forced to bear the brunt. We should be working to achieve real retirement security for all Americans, not take it away from those who have it. Public Employees work hard for everyone while earning modest wages and deserve a secure retirement.