State workers enjoy significantly richer health care benefits than do most private sector employees, as documented in this Thrive Washington paper.

Currently, Washington pays 88 percent of the premium costs for state employees for individual or family coverage.  In 2003-05, state employees paid, on average, 16.3 percent of the cost of their coverage (up from 6 percent in FY2001).  In 2005, the first budget enacted after public employees were allowed to bargain collectively, the state employee share of premium costs was reduced to the current 12 percent.

By comparison, the 2010 survey of employer health benefits conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Education Trust found that “on average (covered workers) contribute 19 percent of the total premium for single coverage (up from 17 percent in 2009) and 30 percent for family coverage (up from 2 percent in 2009).”

The latest collective bargaining agreement boosted the 12 percent to 15 percent – the governor had proposed workers pay 26 percent. Still, as the Kaiser Foundation reports, state employees have an uncommonly good deal.

The governor yesterday asked to reopen the contract to reduce state costs in the face of a $2 billion shortfall. Union groups quickly declined her invitation. According to the Seattle Times,

The governor’s office said it still proposes to reduce by $16 million the state’s contribution to employee health-care benefits this biennium. Gregoire’s office maintains that would not affect the benefits because workers are tapping their insurance at a lower rate than previously anticipated, so that money would be missed.

Sounds like a pretty easy giveback – the money’s apparently not needed to cover benefit costs anyway. Yet, the WFSE says,

 Federation Executive Director Greg Devereux told the WashingtonStateWire.com on Wednesday:

“‘State employees have given as much or more than anyone else in our state, and they are tired of this administration and the Legislature feeling like there are an endless amount of takeaways,’ he said. ‘All [the governor] has to do is look out the window and see Occupy Olympia, Occupy Seattle, Occupy Spokane. People are fed up.’ [Ed. note: That’s a heck of a view from the dome.]

“Devereux said it makes more sense for the Legislature to order a three percent cut in all corporate tax breaks. ‘I think if we do that the $2 billion deficit goes away. Let’s just have a 3 percent across the board cut on all tax breaks.

Washington Policy Center analyst Jason Mercier notes the politics and the implications:

The unions’ refusal to cooperate with the Governor’s request is not surprising. Unions exist to fight for their members, not to advocate for policy that is in the best interest of taxpayers. This why it is incumbent on the Legislature to have the authority to weigh all spending requests equally in the context of the priorities of all taxpayers and citizens and not be cut out of budget decisions totaling millions of dollars.

All of which underscores the point made in a thoughtful editorial in the Herald of Everett.

If [proposed new revenue is] not accompanied by meaningful budget reforms that minimize the chance of further shortfalls, though, good luck getting it past skeptical, recession-battered voters.

 

Yes.