Health care negotiations news - Nov. 13

(By Troy Lee, Chapter President)

As you know we are in the middle of health care negotiations. Here is the latest, we wanted the county to bid our medical plan out to companies other than Regence. The county rejected that offer. Then we proposed to move to the Washington Teamsters Welfare Trust (Medical Plan), and the County at first rejected that with no explanation, but then reconsidered and is now looking at the plan today.
 
Last night, all of the Unions met at Washington High school to discuss the Teamsters Plan. This meeting had a very short notice, so I apologize for those who couldn’t make it. I hope this memo will get you up to speed. I have attached a report that shows the current Regence Plans and compares them to the Teamster Plan. Please compare to Plan A because that’s where we would go if this options works out. Please remember nothing has been decided, this is only a proposal.
 
Please go to   https://www.fchn.com/providerSearch/providerDirectories.aspx for a list of current Teamsters plan providers for (WA, OR, ID, MT, AK), and http://www.beechstreet.com/providers/index.html for a list of out of state providers.
 
Please pass this onto others in your work area, and provide comments/questions back to me at TroyBLee@aol.com or to Roberta Burnett Roberta@ifpte17.org . This email is not intended to disturb your work so please email me at home. Additionally, a communication will be sent out next week following our meeting with the county on Monday, and we will be keeping the Local 17 website updated with the latest news.
 
Thanks,
Troy Lee