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Motion expressing the Sense of Council of Allegheny County urging the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to vote against any bill which would establish a statewide health care system for public school employees in Pennsylvania if the bill adversely affects our Community Colleges and taxpayers.
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WHEREAS, in its 2007-08 Regular Session, the Pennsylvania General Assembly considered H.B. 1277 and H.B. 1841, each of which would have created a statewide school benefit health system; and
WHEREAS, neither H.B. 1277 nor H.B. 1841 ever received a final vote; and
WHEREAS, the deleterious consequences of H.B. 1277 and H.B. 1841 are directly related to those bills' failure to include community colleges in the proposed statewide school benefit health system; and
WHEREAS, by excluding community colleges, including the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), from the proposed statewide system, these bills would have increased healthcare costs for community college employees, because the Allegheny County School Health Insurance Consortium would be eliminated thereby forcing CCAC to purchase or negotiate for health insurance coverage individually; and
WHEREAS, the increased health care costs would create a hardship for Allegheny County, the sponsor of CCAC, as well as for students that would see their tuition increase significantly in order to cover the increased health care costs; and
WHEREAS, while the bills included provisions for a feasibility report to examine whether or not community colleges should be included in the statewide plan, there was no assurance that community colleges would ever have been part of any statewide health benefits program or alternative measures program; and
WHEREAS, the health care consortia model is demonstrably preferable to a statewide plan because the consortia can bargain directly with healthcare providers and enjoy more favorable premiums, a wider array of plan choices, and lower administrative costs; and
WHEREAS, the two bills would have potentially harmed many public education employees through increased healthcare costs, and any new bills structured in a similar fashion will have the same deleterious consequences; and
WHEREAS, most importantly, the flexibility and responsiveness that is built into the Allegheny County School Health Insurance Consortium benefits program would be lost once the state removes local control; and
WHEREAS, it appears that new legislation similar to H.B. 1277 and/or H.B. 1841 is being prepared for introduction in the General Assembly in the near future;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, AND IT IS THE SENSE OF THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, urging the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to vote against any bill which would establish a statewide health care system for public school employees in Pennsylvania if the bill adversely affects our Community Colleges and taxpayers.
PRIMARY SPONSOR: VICE PRESIDENT MARTONI