A Manhattan judge today granted labor unions a temporary reprieve from changes to the city’s health care program– a move that would have saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the mayor.
“We believe the court was wrong,” said Deputy Mayor Cas Halloway. “We can get better coverage at lower costs, and the unions should support that.”
Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling nixed the imminent release of a request-for-proposals from health care providers to design plans that would serve 1 million city workers, retirees and their family members. The city must hold off on the new proposal at least until Aug. 20 when the parties meet in court.
The Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella group of unions with some 500,000 members, sued to block the release claiming it had been sidelined from the process of updating a 1992 health care bargaining agreement.
“The City’s unilateral action, without including the views of the City workers who receive those services in the decision-making process, goes directly against previous agreements,” said committee head Harry Nespoli. “Making a $7 billion spending decision for services beginning six months after the Mayor’s last day in office prevents any accountability for this important decision,” he added.
In June the city delivered a 1,000 page RFP to the committee, leaving them little time to review and comment on the highly technical document. The unions are concerned the new proposal will limit competition among providers and increase member payouts.
Nespoli noted that in 2009 the two sides worked together to save $400 in healthcare costs.
The city counters that it’s included the MLC in the proposal-crafting process