Agenda

Return

D.5

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	October 6, 2015

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Resolution No. 2015/377 Healthcare Coalition 2015 Health Plan Reopener Agreement/Side Letter

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 10/06/2015

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:	Lisa Driscoll, County Finance Director (925) 335-1023
cc:	Ann Elliott, Employee Benefits Manager Lisa Lopez, Assistant Director of Human Resources Harjit S. Nahal, Assistant County Auditor Jonathan T. Wright, Lead Negotiator/Healthcare Coalition

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: October 6, 2015
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT Resolution No. 2015/377, approving a side letter between Contra Costa County and Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE, Local 21; Professional and Technical Employees, AFSMCE Local 512; United Clerical, Technical and Specialized Employees, AFSCME Local 2700; SEIU Local 1021 Rank and File and Service Line Supervisors units; and Western Council of Engineers pursuant to the Health Plan Re-Opener that addresses alternative approaches to plan design and sharing health care premiums for the 2016 Plan year and beyond.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The agreement reached by the County and these five bargaining groups covers approximately 3,000 employees and has a 2016 healthcare Plan year County cost of $3.9 million. Using a projected medical inflation/experience increase of eight percent (8%) for the 2017 Plan year, the County's cost would increase by $1,857,000 in calendar year 2017.

BACKGROUND:

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

Current Memoranda of Understanding between Contra Costa County and Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE, Local 21; Professional and Technical Employees, AFSMCE Local 512; United Clerical, Technical and Specialized Employees, AFSCME Local 2700; SEIU Local 1021 Rank and File and Service Line Supervisors units; Western Council of Engineers; and PEU, Local 1, include a Health Plan Re-Opener provision. The provision re-opened the MOUs on April 1, 2015 for the limited purpose of bargaining over Health, Life, and Dental Care changes effective in the 2016 Plan year. The following five bargaining groups formed a Healthcare Coalition and agreed to

bargain as a coalition: Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE, Local 21; Professional and Technical Employees, AFSMCE Local 512; United Clerical, Technical and Specialized Employees, AFSCME Local 2700; SEIU Local 1021 Rank and File and Service Line Supervisors units; and Western Council of Engineers. The first bargaining session was held on April 1 and the group met and bargained steadily with County representatives since that time (15 sessions). On September 30, 2015 the parties reached a Tentative Agreement (Side Letter), which is attached.

The Side Letter amends the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between the County and the Healthcare Coalition to add the new language summarized below to the following sections of the Healthcare Coalition MOUs:

IFPTE Local 21: Section 12- Health, Dental, & Related Benefits
AFSMCE Local 512: Section 20- Health, Life & Dental Care
AFSCME Local 2700: Section 20- Health, Life & Dental Care
SEIU Local 1021-R&F: Section 18- Health, Life & Dental Care
SEIU Local 1021-SLS: Section 19- Health, Life & Dental Care
Western Council of Engineers: Section 19- Health, Life & Dental Care

In summary, the agreements reached (pending ratification by each bargaining group of the Coalition), will provide:

employees with more affordable health plans for 2016;
a High Deductible HMO with a 2016 employee cost share under $24 per month;
additional cost sharing in 2017 and beyond (50/50 share of medical plan increases);
a three tiered Employee, Employee +1 Dependent, Employee +2 or More Dependent plan structure;
a mechanism to address medical plans that meet the criteria for a high cost employer-sponsored health plan that may be subject to an excise penalty (a.k.a. Cadillac Tax) under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) (42 U.S.C. § 18081);
access to County health plans, for employees who are not otherwise eligible for health coverage by the County, who meet eligibility requirements to receive an offer of coverage from the County under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) (42 U.S.C. § 18081) at employee expense; and
the creation of a Joint Labor/Management Benefit Committee to 1) select a replacement medical or dental plan in the event that a plan is no longer available; 2) design a wellness program; 3) discuss future medical, dental, or vision plan design; or 4) assess the future impact of any excise tax pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) (42 U.S.C. § 18081) on any high cost medical plans offered by the County.

The agreement not only aligns our plans more closely to the market, but offers significant employee relief at a time when medical costs have been skyrocketing.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Beginning on January 1, 2016, employees represented by the Healthcare Coalition will not gain the fiscal relief from the changes in healthcare structure and premium subsidies included in the agreement.

CLERK'S ADDENDUM

Speaker: Dan Jameyson, SEIU 1021.