Unions Demand Action, Call for Legislation to Ensure Affordable Healthcare and Improved Governance and Transparency of New Jersey’s Public Sector Workforce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 21, 12:00pm ET

Contact: Rebecca Miller | rmiller@cwa-union.org | 401-497-6508

 

Unions Demand Action, Call for Legislation to Ensure Affordable Healthcare and Improved Governance and Transparency of New Jersey’s Public Sector Workforce

Trenton, NJ - Hundreds of public sector workers, members of CWA, AFSCME NJ, and more, rallied in New Jersey today calling on state lawmakers to take urgent action this legislative session to address unaffordable healthcare for the workers who have dedicated their careers to public service but are crushed under the weight of increasing costs. 

Since 2022, healthcare premiums for State workers have increased by 40% while local government workers have seen a 59% compounded increase. The unions representing State and Local government employees say that these drastic increases are untenable for the workers, and are a core driver of the affordability crisis facing New Jersey’s public sector working families. 

“Healthcare costs in NJ have been a runaway train and it’s long past time that our elected leaders step up and work with us to put a stop to it,” said Dennis G. Trainor, Vice President of CWA District 1. “It’s simply unacceptable that we have workers forced to rely on food stamps to make ends meet while working full time for the State. Our healthcare used to be among the most top notch in the country - now, for many of our members, it would be preferable to pass on a promotion in order to remain at a low enough income to qualify for Medicaid. This isn’t right, and it’s not sustainable. Lawmakers MUST make it a priority  to fix this broken system and care for this state.”

Union leaders say that the cost of healthcare is putting significant strain on local governments, driving up property tax rates and pushing local governments out of the State Health Benefits Plan. The premium increases are significantly higher than increases in other large public healthcare plans across the country, raising questions regarding the performance of the plan, the prices for medical services charged by the plan’s carriers and the governance of the plan itself.

New Jersey has some of the highest healthcare costs in the country, but these costs are not leading to higher quality care or better outcomes for New Jersey residents. 

Union members called on the State legislature to pass a comprehensive healthcare reform bill that will address affordability and rapidly rising costs, and increase governance and transparency in the State health plan. This campaign is supported by a broad coalition of public sector unions including CWA, AFSCME NJ, the NJ AFL-CIO, AAUP-AFT, AFT New Jersey, The Council of New Jersey State Colleges, URA-AFT, HPAE, IFPTE Local 195, IFPTE Local 194, IFPTE Local 196, and IFTPE Local 196-12.’

“This legislation is a win-win for workers and taxpayers. It provides long overdue, common-sense reforms to a broken system. By ensuring more transparency and more accountability, it will reduce the cost of health insurance for both workers and the taxpayers, without sacrificing the quality of care.” Steve Tully, Executive Director, AFSCME NJ

Controlling costs and making healthcare more affordable for tens of thousands of workers will reduce costs for taxpayers, save State and Local government money, and ensure that New Jerseyans who have dedicated their careers to supporting the State have access to the affordable, high-quality healthcare that they deserve.

“Public workers are now faced with a devastating choice, their healthcare or their financial stability. Promotions, which should be a cause of celebration, now come with a heavy burden of higher healthcare costs to the point where dedicated employees are requesting demotions to afford their healthcare.” Tammy Carr, Vice President of CWA Local 1084

"State health benefit costs are spiraling out of control and must be addressed.  This legislation seeks to contain consumer pricing with no reduction in benefits, while increasing oversight and transparency." Debbie White, RN, HPAE President

The premium increases are significantly higher than increases in other large public healthcare plans across the country, raising questions regarding the performance of our plan, the prices for medical services charged by our carriers, the State’s ability to manage the plans, and the reliability of the State’s third-party actuary.

“Since the Covid pandemic hit, we’ve seen SHBP costs spike far above inflation. This has harmed our members and employers, with the state government being the largest payer for health care in New Jersey. Our plans are currently controlled by the insurance companies, the providers and the monopolistic health care systems. The state and our unions need to take back control of pricing and payments and this bill does just that. It reforms governance to give our members more say and control, so we can have a true partnership with this governor and the next. It authorizes reference-based pricing to bring control and transparency to pricing rather than the back-room negotiations where the state and our unions aren’t even at the table. It creates new lower cost plan options for members and employers struggling with the current high costs. And it expands plan access to all those working full time. This bill goes a long way to fixing a corrupt system and providing sunshine for our members and taxpayers.” Patrick Nowlan, Executive Director for Rutgers AAUP-AFT and Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union

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The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields. CWA represents roughly 75,000 public sector workers throughout New Jersey.