[Vision2020] ID Public Records Law: UI

[Paul Rumelhart]

Saundra Lund wrote:
> Visionaries:
>
> As some of you know, I'm on a quest to understand why UI employees pay so
> much more for health insurance than other state employees, and Rose Huskey
> has kindly been helping.
>
> The cost difference is shocking -- we're not talking chump change here.  For
> those interested in details, an employee in the state insurance pool with a
> spouse and two children pays $109 per MONTH for decent Blue Cross of Idaho
> PPO coverage while it would cost a UI employee about $191 PER PAY PERIOD for
> similar but inferior coverage.  This doesn't include the mandatory $5.50 per
> pay period "wellness" TAX Moscow campus employees are assessed.
>   

I'm not trying to take away from anything you're doing, but I wanted to 
show another perspective.  I'm a single guy with no dependents.  I used 
to pay around $25 a pay period for health insurance, I now pay about $3 
a pay period.  I'm on plan H, the HSA plan, with much of what I don't 
need dialed down to bare minimums.  I also currently have about $1500 
stashed in an HSA bank account somewhere as a result of this.  Plus, my 
ceiling is lower - so I won't pay as much if I do suffer a catastrophic 
accident or illness, and I have that $1500 I can throw at it first.

Obviously, this won't work for everyone.  But it's not true that all UI 
employees pay more for health insurance now than they used to.  A lot of 
them do, sure, but not everybody.  That's why I like the cafeteria plan, 
you can choose how much each facet of your insurance means to you and 
spend accordingly.  The health spending account also goads me into 
shopping around more and paying for less, because the first portion of 
it comes out of your account which is real money instead of thinking 
"well, the insurance will cover it".  Better for everybody that way, I 
think.

Paul