[Vision2020] ID Public Records Law: UI

Wed Oct 7 12:59:29 PDT 2009

Saundra, et al,

Aside from the issue of health insurance costs, which is very important to most all of us, the other very troubling issue here  is the failure of UI to obey the public records laws.  Those laws were made so that citizens could intelligently and informationally understand, comment upon, and influence our so-called government by and of the people.

I have found educational institutions to be very arrogant about releasing information, especially information that might place them in less than a bright, charming light.  [This is even more true of almost all non-government institutions.]

Perhaps the UI is taking lessons from Walter Steed, who spent City of Moscow money trying to avoid turning over public records, then deleted most of them before turning a few over.

Hiding information to which the public is legally entitled is a sure sign that something(s) illegal, unethical and/or very stupid has occurred.

This is a lesson that Moscow voters need to relearn before the coming elections.  It is also a sign that the governor needs to clean house at the State Board of Education which allows the UI to continually fart in the faces of taxpayers and other members of the public where public records requests are concerned.

Art Deco

Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID  83843

waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Saundra Lund 
  To: 'Ron Force' ; 'Paul Rumelhart' 
  Cc: 'Moscow Vision 2020' 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 10:24 PM
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] ID Public Records Law: UI

  Ron, do you happen to know what retiree & dependent health insurance rates are now, and if so, do you care to share?

  While the rates & coverage details were publicly available until the last couple of years, it's now apparently Top Secret.

  And, I'm not sure retiree health care is a significant budgetary expense any longer.  I have a HBT (Health Benefits Trust) FY2009 Overall Financial Profile prepared by the UI ending June 30, 2009, and the numbers are . . . interesting.  Employer Contribution is listed as $37,897.08; Employee (or retiree, presumably) Contribution is $2,664,358.28 for Total Contributions of $2,702,255.36.

  Total Expenses (that includes EAP, medical, psychological, dental, and AON insurance) were $2,165,360.70.  That total is clearly less than the money collected from retirees, yes?

  Of course, I'm just an ignorant crackpot who surely doesn't understand the intricacies of things like this, so I'm sure there must be some explanation that just looking at the numbers fails to tell.  I'd be happy to learn the explanation, but since the info is apparently Top Secret, and since UI counsel apparently feels it's appropriate to blatantly ignore Public Records Requests, I'm left in the dark.

  I'll also add that State employees and their dependents are eligible for health insurance, although I don't know how those rates  or plan details which I have compare to those of UI retirees since the UI details seem to be Top Secret info for the UI in recent years.

  Saundra Lund

  Moscow, ID

  The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.

  ~ Edmund Burke

  ***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2009 through life plus 70 years, Saundra Lund.  Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum without the express written permission of the author.*****

  From: Ron Force [mailto:rforce2003 at yahoo.com] 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 9:53 PM
  To: Paul Rumelhart; Saundra Lund
  Cc: Moscow Vision 2020
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] ID Public Records Law: UI

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  In my previous missive, I forgot another issue that the UI is dealing with: retiree health insurance.  The UI is the only state agency that continued health insurance for retirees that met at least the rule of  80 (combination of age and years of service).  They provide primary insurance until the retiree is 65 and qualifies for Medicare, then acts as a secondary insurance, covering costs not paid by Medicare above a $2000 deductible.  This benefit has been withdrawn for all new employees, and scaled back for those not retired yet, but carrying this is, I believe, a significant budgetary expense. The state doesn't contribute anything to this benefit.  It was started thirty-some years ago as a nice thing to do without much thought as to how it would be funded.  Of course, they didn't forsee the astronomical increase in the cost of health insurance.

  Ron Force
  Moscow ID USA
  >

  Saundra, you paint a dismal picture of the UI health care plan.  Are 
  there any positives that can be seen anywhere?  Aside from the 
  apparently small demographic I fall into?

  Paul

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