Health care premiums hold in U.S. Steel contract with union
Source: Trib Live
By Alex Nixon
Union workers won't have to contribute toward health care premiums under a tentative three-year contract with U.S. Steel Corp. but they will have higher co-payments, marking a partial win for the United Steelworkers that had pushed back against the company's demand for significant concessions on health costs.
Tom Conway, the union's vice president and lead negotiator in talks with steel companies, said the victory on premiums was balanced against accepting a wage freeze and changes to health plans that would lead to higher cost-sharing of medical bills for some union members because of the increase in payments for their share of prescriptions and doctor visits.
“People using a lot of health care are going to pay more, but nothing like the levels of premiums that the company was seeking,” Conway told the Tribune-Review.
When talks started this summer, U.S. Steel proposed a 10 percent premium contribution for union workers that would have totaled $182 a month. The company also sought higher deductibles, the amount of money a worker has to pay before their insurance kicks in, and an increase in co-insurance, which is the percentage of a medical bill the worker must cover after insurance payments.
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Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/9690539-74/union-health-steel
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