Know Your Government

by Tom Sutliffe

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Question:

Do you know what the taxpayers of the State of New Hampshire provide in premium costs / per employee for family health care benefits?

Answer: $22,500.  That's right Twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars anually is paid by you "the very generous taxpayers of New Hampshire" for each state employee who is on the family plan for health care benefits.  Fortunately, this is approved by your State Represenatives, who are always looking out for your best interest!  Municipalities are you picking up on this?

Comments

[cvcrank]

It is really bad when you compare it against other states.

The next highest state is Vermont at $12,500.

[Money Guy]

Could you post where your source for this is?

Thanks

[cvcrank]

It was in an editorial by Charlie Arlinghaus, though I was incorrect on the VT. amount the amount Arlinghaus quotes is $22634 for NH and $14400 for VT.

"Charlie Arlinghaus: How state employees can save themselves and taxpayers some money"
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Charlie+Arlinghaus%3a+How+state+employees+can+save+themselves+and+taxpayers+some+money&articleId=de14eaab-1347-4cd9-9c4d-4f69b30b4c52

[Mike M]

The original article is dated Jan 10 and was from a National Conference of State Legislatures report. The NCSL is a non-partisan group, so the data is unbiased and probably accurate. Here is the link: http://64.82.65.67/health/StateEmpl-healthpremiums.pdf

New Hampshire is off-the-charts in medical costs for two reasons:

First, the cost of insurance is the highest in the country- at $1885 a month it is $386 more than the next highest state (VT) and roughly 40% above the average cost. This could be due to the lavishness of the plan, or to the general cost of insurance here.The report doesn't address what the insurance plans offer, unfortunately.

Secondly, NH is one of only 5 states that pay 100% of the cost of insurance for its employees. In Vermont, for example, state employees pay $300 of the cost, so the state cost is $1200 per month.

What I don't know is if this is a legislative issue or something negotiated by the executive with the employee unions. Any thoughts on this? In any case, given the difficult financial situation we are in, and the lack of money for social issues, it doesn't seem reasoinable that the state pay all medical costs.

[Tom Sutliffe]

Does anyone know of persons in the private sector who receive simular health care benefits as those of our state employees? I think not! We may have been working while our state legislature was approving the expenditures on our behalf. God bless them. Fortunately, you can always rely on your government to watch over expenses deducted from your wallet!

[Mike M]

Tom:

Do you know the process by which state employees recieve this very attractive insurance benefit? Is it part of a labor contract negotiated with the Dept. of Admin. Services or another department within the executive branch, or are these benefits given to state employees by virtue of an act of the legislature?

It would be nice to know the answer to this to know where pressure should be brought to bear.

[Tom Sutliffe]

"So, always look for the union label."The contract regarding state employee health benefits is negotiated through (SEA) State Employees Association.

[Mike M]

Tom: I understand SEA negotiates on behalf of the workers. I guess my question is who negotiates on behalf of the taxpayers. Is it the Governor, one of his commissioners, or the legislature? At the end of the day, does the legislature vote on the medical benefits given to state employees explicitly, or implicitly by virtue of passing the state budget? Is any negotiated settlement subject to ratification by the legislature? I simply do not know, but as a new legislator I would certainly like to find out.

I have no problem with our state employees getting a good insurance plan, and I wish more residents also recieved better health insurance, but it seems that we may be a little too generous. This is not an area where I want to see NH leading the nation!