LANSING – Government employees and retirees across the state would have to pay 25 percent of the cost of their health care coverage under a ballot proposal former Rep. Lorence Wenke is working on.
As a member of the Legislature last term, Wenke introduced several bills that would have put into place the 25 percent premium cost for government workers and retirees, including lawmakers, but the legislation never made it out of committee.
Wenke said the 25 percent figure comes from information he’s collected about the share of premium costs the average private sector employee pays. He said that compares to the 5 percent of health care costs he paid while in office and the 10 percent in shared costs he’s taken on now that he’s out of office.
However, a recent House Fiscal Agency wage and benefit analysis of state employees versus those in the private sector found that government workers are paying more for their health care coverage than their private sector colleagues (that wasn’t the case until the most recent contract).
“The Michigan taxpayer is a very generous employer,” Wenke argued, adding that he estimates implementing such a cost-sharing measure could save governments across the state a total of $1 billion to $2 billion, money that could be used to fund more health care coverage for children or the uninsured.
But Alan Kilar, spokesperson for the UAW Local 6000, which represents state employees, said the union would oppose the kind of ballot initiative Mr. Wenke is seeking.
Kilar said the health care benefits state employees and retirees receive were negotiated and the most recent contract increased their share of the cost from 5 percent to 10 percent. The state is expected to save $300 million over the next three years because of the concessions.
Kilar said it’s hypocritical for any lawmaker to ask state employees to give up more when they have yet to “look in their own backyard” and reduce their pay or benefits, noting that state workers received no pay increase in the current fiscal year.
While he was in office, Wenke started a petition for lawmakers to agree to reduce or freeze their wages, along with pay more for their health care, as part of measures to reform the government before signing off on any general tax increase. More than a dozen House members signed the pledge, but after the budget debate of 2007, the pay cut and benefit issue for legislators subsided.
Wenke said Wednesday he is in the early stages of getting the initiative off the ground, which includes meeting with special interest groups to gauge interest on the proposal.
He also said fundraising will be crucial, anticipating a need to raise $1.5 million for signature gathering and other campaign expenditures.
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