Nassau County Comptrollers Office

Nassau County could save more than $3 million a year, and more than $28 million over the next five years, by not giving two health insurance policies to married couples when both spouses are county employees or retirees, according to a report issued today by Comptroller Howard Weitzman. The analysis of county health benefits identified hundreds of married couples who receive duplicate health coverage from the county, Nassau Community College or the Nassau Health Care Corporation.

"Nassau County has traditionally offered a health benefits packages to its employees and retirees that is second to none. But we need a new rule: one generous health benefit package per family," Comptroller Weitzman said. "Our analysis found that 343 couples had two county health insurance plans. They get little or no benefit from this, but the cost to the county is enormous - and avoidable.

"In January 2003," he continued, "we urged the county to eliminate dual family coverage, and we pointed out the high cost of failing to do so in a report on how the county could save money on its employee health benefits. The county partially implemented our recommendation then. I urge them to implement it fully now."

Comptroller Weitzman predicted that failing to eliminate the duplicate benefits will cost $28 million over the next five years, "money that Nassau County, with its growing structural deficit, clearly cannot afford," he said. "At a time when millions lack any health insurance, the taxpayers should not be asked to provide extra and unnecessary health insurance." (See chart below)

Other government health insurance benefit programs, including those of New York State and New York City employees/retirees, permit only one family plan for married couples.

Following the Comptroller's 2003 report, the administration did take "a step in the right direction," he said, by negotiating with the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) to provide only one family health insurance plan for each married couple. However, the other spouse is permitted to elect individual coverage, under the terms of a grievance settlement. The CSEA contract provision presents limited savings opportunities since it applies only to current CSEA employees married to other unit members, continues to permit two health insurance policies for married employees, and does not eliminate the duplication of benefits for any other county employees or retirees.

The report finds that the total cost to the county of duplicate health coverage is approximately $4 million in 2006. If the county, college and NHCC were to permit only one spouse to receive health insurance and the other spouse was required to accept the $2,000 health insurance buyback -- an option currently available to employees with other coverage, but not mandatory - the county could save $3.34 million in 2006, with higher amounts each succeeding year. It is possible that the buyback payment could, at the employee's discretion, be deposited directly into a tax-deferred account and that the employee could then use the funds to pay for any non-covered medical expenses including co-pays and deductibles.

The county could make such a change immediately for employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement (known as "ordinance employees"). The Comptroller urged the administration to begin negotiating with unions representing other employees to effectuate this change, and to determine whether the same changes could be implemented for retirees.

"While we believe that eliminating the dual family policies in the manner we propose would have no impact on most employees," Comptroller Weitzman said, "in those rare instances where employees might have to pay more out-of-pocket medical expenses, the change could be structured in such a way as to guarantee that they lose no part of any current financial benefit."

The cost of Nassau County's health benefits for employees and retirees has increased from approximately $133 million a year in 2001 to a projected $220 million a year for 2006, an increase of 65 percent. Nassau County currently has 10,494 active employees and 11,151 retirees whose families receive county health benefits.

The full report on dual family health insurance coverage may be read or downloaded at the Comptroller's Web site, www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/comptroller. The 2003 report called "Providing Affordable Health Insurance For County Employees and Retirees in the Midst of a Fiscal Crisis" may be read or downloaded at http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Comptroller/NewsRelease/2003/1-07-03.html.

WEITZMAN REPORT: COUNTY COULD SAVE OVER $3 MILLION/YRBY ENDING DUPLICATE BENEFITS FOR MARRIED WORKERS

WEITZMAN REPORT: COUNTY COULD SAVE OVER $3 MILLION/YR
BY ENDING DUPLICATE BENEFITS FOR MARRIED WORKERS