Tag Archives: Sam Camens

Guild, AP continue health insurance bargaining

The News Media Guild and the Associated Press narrowed their differences on health insurance, but still remain far apart, as the union and AP eliminated some provisions from their prior proposals.

The Guild agreed to not have a health reimbursement account that would have offset the cost of higher premiums and proposed a wellness plan that would cost employees $15 month if they didn’t participate in certain activities.

The Guild’s plan is not based on outcomes, however. The AP wants an outcome-based wellness program that costs non-participants $50 a month.

The Guild also eliminated a $1,000 credit that staffers would have received if their spouses or domestic partners were not on AP insurance. The company still wants to force spouses and domestic partners off the AP plan if they have insurance available at work that is expected to meet minimum requirements under the Affordable Care Act or if the coverage isn’t subsidized at all. Continue reading →

Guild makes health insurance proposal, fights firings of 2 staffers

The News Media Guild today proposed a health insurance plan that includes higher premiums and deductibles but does not include a high-deductible plan or coinsurance.

The Guild’s health insurance proposal would save the company $1 million in the first year, which would keep the company’s costs flat. It includes a 25 percent increase in the premium plan the first year and 8 percent, which is about market trend, for 2014-15. The Guild proposed the 25 percent increase to give employees a clear choice between a better premium plan or a less expensive basic plan rather than having almost no cost difference.

To see proposal, click here.

The Guild’s proposal includes the same increases for the technology unit, but based on its rates, which a health and welfare fund has subsidized for years. That fund is running out of money, and the Guild wants to raise the TU rates more slowly.

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