In a letter to the editor, longtime Hoboken resident Kathy Prussack explains how the municipal budget debate and it’s accompanying tax increase has left her “frustrated and angry.”
Dear Editor,
As a resident homeowner in Hoboken, the current debate over the budget and the extraordinary tax hike proposed by the administration leaves me frustrated and angry.
One of the key areas for discussion is the cost of health insurance for city employees.
While I understand that there are union contracts to be mindful of, we are unfortunately faced with an environment in this country where increases in the cost of health insurance are driving every organization, public and private, to re-evaluate their benefits offerings.
I spent over two decades administering health insurance benefits for a local independent school and every year was a challenge to provide reasonable coverage to our well-deserving employees without bankrupting the school.
It takes creative thinking and a lot of legwork to make it work but it can be done.
Here are some of the solutions I can recommend the City Council and Mayor’s office consider to tackle this problem.
1. Change the plan offerings. I understand that the city has a self-funded insurance plan which is a great way to save money.
But it also requires that a variety of plans be offered within the plan that include several high-deductible plans where the city then contributes to an HSA to offset the cost to the employee of the deductible.
Most employees will not need more than the amount of the HSA funding to meet their medical expenses, particularly because wellness care is covered outside of the deductible under the ACA.
The funds in the HSA account will then build up over time to cover any extraordinary expenses. I recommend multiple high-deductible plans because they often have different coverages that can address the needs of the employees.
2. Make one of the less expensive plans the default coverage under the plan and require employees who wish to keep the platinum coverage they currently enjoy to pay part of the premium.
Full coverage is available to them if they will choose one of the other plans but they will need to contribute towards the more expensive coverage.
3. I do not know if dependent coverage is included as a free benefit but there should be cost sharing for dependent coverage. There are very few organizations that offer dependent coverage as a free benefit to their employees.
4. Shop carriers. I found that moving between carriers results in great savings, even if only for a year or two. There is never a reason to accept the offer from your current carrier without negotiating and finding an alternative.
I would also include in the analysis of the carrier offering the sharing of any surplus in the plan at the end of the year and how it is calculated.
It is truly a shame that this has to be something we have to worry about but until the national health insurance crisis is solved, it will continue to require utmost diligence to make sure that the employees and the taxpayers are sharing the pain.
I would be more than happy to sit with the administration and council to help them resolve this.
Kathy Prussack
44-year Hoboken resident
