There has been some confusion over the EUTF rates that apply to faculty members in bargaining unit 7. At the EUTF meetings, faculty members were not given the exact premium they would have to pay for health insurance plans because the state was waiting for the contract negotiations with the other public sector unions to be completed and approved by the Legislature. This is actually a substantial benefit for all faculty members needing health insurance coverage.

UHPA negotiated a “most favored nation” clause in the UHPA/BOR 2003-2009 collective bargaining agreement for faculty members in bargaining unit 7 which requires the State to pay the highest employer contribution for the EUTF benefit plans found in all the 13 bargaining unit public employee contracts. The contract with the state teachers’ union has just concluded, and that agreement may provide a higher employer contribution for those selecting Kaiser Permanente. The EUTF is still making a comparison of rates that include administrative fees to determine if the HSTA settlement would lead to lower premium contributions for faculty members selecting Kaiser coverage. UHPA has also put the State Office of Collective Bargaining on notice that UHPA expects that the best EUTF rates for health benefit plans, i.e., medical, dental, vision, would be applied. Thus far EUTF has been unable to tell faculty members what the exact rates would be because they were waiting for the HSTA contract to be ratified. If those turn out to be better rates, then they will be applied to faculty members (BU 07), regardless of the initial estimates given in the EUTF informational meetings.

As an example, it appears based on the HSTA Kaiser rates, that the Employee will be paying $410/month for full family coverage (as opposed to the EUTF quoted $443/month) or $113/monthy for single person coverage (as opposed to the EUTF quoted $136/month.)  Unlike the EUTF, the HSTA plan does not have a two-person benefit option, so that rate would remain the same $342/month. However, these are just preliminary estimates made by UHPA. The actual difference may change.

All faculty members can be assured that they will receive the highest State Employer contribution being made to any other public employee or teacher in the state based on the benefit plan they select.