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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
LANSING, Mich.—Top Michigan lawmakers agreed Wednesday to set up a conference committee to resolve differences in House- and Senate-passed bills that would increase how much public employees would have to pay for health care insurance coverage.
Under Senate-passed bill S.B. 7, employees would be required to pay 20% of the health insurance premium, the same percentage that employees hired on or after April 1, 2010, pay. Those hired before then pay 10% of the premium.
The House modified the Senate bill. Under the House-passed plan, public employers could require employees to pay 20% of the premium. Alternatively, public employers could choose an approach in which their premium contributions would be capped. Initially, public employers' premiums would be capped at $5,500 for single coverage, $11,000 for individual and spousal coverage, $12,500 for an individual with any children and $15,000 for family coverage.
These maximum premium contributions would be adjusted annually by the state treasurer to reflect changes in the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index.
Cost reductions
Both measures are intended to reduce public employers' health insurance costs. The move by Michigan lawmakers to make employees pay more for health care coverage is part of a broader drive by economically stressed public entities to reduce benefit costs.
For example, last month New Jersey lawmakers approved legislation boosting public employees' pension and health care premiums, while the Atlanta City Council approved a measure increasing pension plan contributions for many city employees.