NJEA member health benefits alert!

Earlier this week, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury released an inflammatory and misleading report regarding the health of the Local Government segment of the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP-LG). While the report was not specifically about the School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP) that covers many NJEA members, the SEHBP was referenced in the report, and the implication is clear: state government officials are preparing to come after public employee health benefits by degrading the quality of hard-earned benefits and shifting massive new health care costs onto New Jersey working families.

Notably, the report contains several recommendations for how to stabilize public employee health benefits. None of those recommendations do anything to actually lower health care costs or to hold insurance companies, insurance brokers, hospitals or pharmaceutical companies responsible for their shared role in the rapidly increasing costs the plans are facing. All of the recommendations focus on shifting those growing costs directly onto working people who are already overburdened by existing health care costs. It is a cynical attempt by powerful elected and appointed leaders to protect the obscene profits of insurance companies, insurance brokers, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.

Tellingly, the report was released without any notice to, or discussion with, the commissions that oversee the health plans. Unions were given no notice or advance briefing. It is clearly an attempt to launch a sneak attack on public employee health benefits. The use of inflammatory and loaded language like “death spiral,” which does not reflect reality, is evidence of harmful intent. We will not stand for it!