This document summarizes key changes to a collective bargaining agreement between a state government and its employees. It outlines 3 issues that union leadership asked the bargaining team to address in June: maintain the current sick leave plan, get the same or higher raise with an emphasis on helping lower wage workers, and improve the health care offer. The document then details how the state's offer was increased by 20% in October by adding health benefit savings incentive payments and converting part of the initial raise into a signing bonus. It argues this new deal allocates $6 million more for employees and up to $6 million in wellness incentives, addressing union concerns about wages and benefits.

1. CB Senate Order: Back to the Table – 3 Issues
Key Changes from June to NOW
Other Key Improvements to the CBA
Saving Money & Helpful Health Care Information
What Makes this a Better Deal?
Health Benefits vs. Wage Growth

2. CB Senate Order to Master Bargaining Team in June:
•Reject split sick leave plan, maintain current plan 
•Get the same raise or higher; help lower wage workers early in
agreement: 
•Improve health care offer: 
•Expand Site of Service Network
•Reduce Employee Risk for Paying More (employees need
real raise, not one they have to pay for)
•NOW: Increased offer by +/- 20% by adding $600 in new
Health Benefit Savings Incentive payments, adding more
money into special employee accounts to use for health
care costs, and converting first 5 months of raise into a
$300 payment for all full time employees.

3. June 2013 Rejected (then)
October 2013 Recommended (after)
No signing bonus to pay equal amounts to workers.
$300 signing bonus 12/13 (in lieu of retroactive pay)
1.5% raise begins 1st pay period in July 2013
1.5% raise begins 1st pay period after signing
Split sick leave plan; eliminate supplemental sick leave
Sick leave unchanged, study committee created
Short term disability plan
Supplemental sick leave (current program remains)
Nothing to put more money into workers’ pockets,
even though workers have continued to give up
money in wage growth while the price of the health
benefit grows, and workers pay more for it too.
$300 Health Benefit Savings Incentive payments in first
paychecks of January 2014 and 2015 ($600 total) for
each full time employee. Part time employees that
subscribe to the health plan will receive these too.
Funds can be used without restriction as they will be
included in employee paychecks.
New Health Promotion Program with up to $300
annual incentives. Full time employees and part time
employees that subscribe to the health plan can
complete wellness activities to receive incentives,
paid in the form of product gift cards. Wouldn’t have
directly helped workers with medical costs.
New Health Promotion Program with up to $300 annual
incentives. Full time employees and part time
employees that subscribe to the health plan can
complete wellness activities to receive incentives.
Funds will be deposited into employee’s health
reimbursement arrangement. Any of these unused
funds will remain in the account until 12/31/2015.
Funds can be used for medical and drug co-payments,
deductibles incurred, vision care and glasses/contacts.

4. 2.25% raise begins 1st pay period in July 2014
2.25% raise begins 1st pay period in January 2015
Dental Plan: Annual per person maximum coverage
increased by $300 to $1,500. Cleanings increased by
1 to 3 per year per person. For children, fluoride
treatments increased to 2 per year. Sealant coverage
expanded to adults. NEW-dental implant coverage.
NEW-Employees choosing dental coverage will pay
working rates (premiums) per paycheck for employee
($1), employee +1 ($2) or family ($3) coverage.
Medical plan only: new (up to) $500 deductibles for
services that do not already have co-payments. ($500
individual annual maximum, $750 family maximum in
2014 and $1,000 in 2015). 100% covered preventive care
remains in place. Office visit and drug co-payments are
unchanged. NEW hearing aid benefit for adults ($1,500
per ear every 5 years) Urgent Care visits specified at $30
and Emergency Room visits remain at $100. No change to
full Anthem network of providers. No change to
employee working rate contribution (premiums). NEW
routine eye exams annually.
Increased life insurance by $5,000 ($25,000 benefit)
Current $200 Health Reimbursement Arrangement
for completing Health Risk Appraisal expands use to
include paying for vision and glasses/contacts.
Site of Service Program (expanded to add more sites):
Additional resource of identified providers that will offer
services at lower costs, to a degree that deductibles for
those services may be waived entirely.
NEW Notice of Transfer: 30 days advanced notice if
worker being involuntarily and permanently
transferred more than 30 miles, one way, from their
home address.
Utilization of Cost Effective Providers (Compass
SmartShopper): Resource of identified providers that
offer services at lower costs, to a degree that the
employee can earn a rebate check, some up to $500.
If employee medical costs are lower than budgeted,
after paying the two Health Benefit Savings Incentive
payments, another payment may be made, and
anything left over will be used for the next contract.
Shift differential provisions are amended to aid in
consistent application; also they are restored for
Correctional Officer Supervisory staff.

5. Basic categories of services subject to deductibles are: outpatient surgery, laboratory
(outpatient), imaging (x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs), and inpatient admission
(once for admission, not daily deductible). Certain services have mandatory
deductibles that cannot be waived, no matter the provider you use: inpatient
admittance and imaging services.
Option 1: Avoid deductibles by using Anthem’s Site of Service (SOS) program. Lower
cost sites and providers save you and your health plan money. Your deductible will be
waived (unless it is a mandatory deductible), and your health plan pays a smaller claim
too. Not all SOS locations provide all deductible eligible services though.
Option 2: Compass SmartShopper program sends you a rebate check if you call
Compass and arrange to have the service you need performed by their preferred lower
cost providers, plus your health plan pays a smaller claim too.
Option 3: Use money from your $200 health reimbursement arrangement (that you
get when you complete your health risk assessment) to pay your deductible if you can’t
get it waived or earn a rebate check to help pay for it.
Option 4: Use money from your $300 health reimbursement (that you get when you
complete wellness activities), if all else fails. Use this money last because any you don’t
spend will rollover for your continued use until December 31, 2015
Option 5: Use money you’ll receive from your January 2014 and 2015 $300 (each year)
Health Benefit Savings Incentive payments.
SOMETIMES…you might even be able to use Anthem’s SOS and Compass Smartshopper
all at once. That way you can get your deductible waived and get a rebate check too.

6. You can still access the full Anthem network (providers and hospitals). Site of
Service and Compass SmartShopper do not change your access.
Preventive care is still 100% covered; co-payments for office visits, therapies and
prescriptions are unchanged.
You will not be charged a deductible that is actually more than the cost of the
service itself.
Not all deductibles charged will be at the amount of $500. Some will be less.
Waived deductibles still count toward your annual maximum deductible.
Completing the health risk appraisal early in each new year gives you the most
time to benefit from the $200 health reimbursement arrangement.
Likewise, so does completing your wellness activities – a $300 arrangement.
Every person’s health care consumption is different. There are many options to
help people best plan for their medical needs and out of pocket costs, including
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and individually purchased insurance policies
that pay you money when you’re hospitalized, or use a variety of other medical
services (such as AFLAC).
The State begins open enrollment for 2014 in late November. Educational
sessions about your new health plan are being held throughout the state in
November. Attending one is a good way to learn more about these changes.

7. In June, the State projected health plan changes would save the
State $10.3m. Legislators used this projection to help pay for
raises. Our projections indicated at least $5m more in savings
would be held by the State rather than given back to us in raises.
State also predicted not many employees would face deductibles.
Our projections indicated over half would. We predict that 10,000
people in our health plan will experience some level of deductible.
Approximately 5,000 people will also experience a deductible if
they do not choose care at a Site of Service location. The old offer
didn’t provide workers enough money and benefits to keep them
out of financial harm’s way, and raises would be spent on more
medical bills rather than helping workers get ahead.
Latest data proved workers needed a real raise and extra money to
offset new deductibles. This deal includes $6m more money for
employees and up to $6m in wellness activity incentive payments.

8. Employees took smaller raises for years for “free” health care. Today, half the state
employees earn less in wages than they do in benefits – mostly due to their long term
preference to have “free” health insurance.
For years, employees were promised lifetime “free” health care in retirement. That promise
was broken in 2009. New retirees now have to pay 12.5% of the cost of their insurance plan
until they are eligible for Medicare.
There are no collective bargaining rights in retirement. Without the ability to control the
State’s health care promises, today’s workers increasingly want higher wages so that they
can earn more money throughout their lifetime – including retirement.
For profit insurance companies didn’t leave employees much chance to get more money in
wages from the State and have less money forfeited for “free” health insurance. This lead to
the State self-insuring to get insurance company profits out of the health plan. Since then,
each negotiation cycle, the State projects its own health care inflation. From 2008-2011,
$60m in projected inflation (that never occurred based on claims paid), resulted in state
agencies receiving $60m back in employee compensation, which they then used to balance
agency budgets. That’s an average of $1,500 a year workers lost in wages and $750 a year
lost in future pension payments.
The proposed changes in this agreement secures $6m in wages that were previously
earmarked for health care inflation. If more people use Compass SmartShopper and Site of
Service locations, millions more could be returned to workers in 2015 and beyond. Health
care dollars are compensation; saving money on health care means higher wages for
everyone.