In response to the university’s announced increased health insurance costs for 2024, faculty organizations across California have been pushing back against university administration. Cheryl Lloyd, the UC Office of the President’s, or UCOP, Vice President of systemwide HR, released a statement responding to concerns about increased medical premiums for UC plans in the coming year Oct. 30. According to campus academic researcher Laurel Lucia, staff and faculty will see their premium contributions increase anywhere between 15 and 193 percent.
“Nothing I can say will help you balance your monthly budget, but I feel I owe you an explanation of the steps we’ve taken to maintain quality, choice, affordability and equity,” Lloyd said in the statement. “As someone who takes UC’s commitment to high-quality and affordable health benefits very seriously, the premium increases for 2024 are painful.” The statement also mentioned that UCOP leaders pledged $93 million in subsidies outside of the university’s original budget for lowering premiums. However, a letter from the Berkeley Faculty Association alleges that the UC may have reduced its share of contributions instead.
The letter, addressed to university regents and president Michael Drake, notes that in comparing estimated Kaiser health insurance rate increases with UC employee increases, the UC may have reduced contributions by about 20 percent. As of press time, UCOP has not responded to a request for comment on this figure. “Given that many faculty are already struggling with the cost of living in the Bay Area and have received pay rises less than the cost of inflation for several years, this is causing additional hardship and stress,” said James Vernon, Berkeley Faculty Association co-chair, in an email. “I’ve heard from faculty that this is another development that makes it harder for them to continue to work here. It is especially difficult for junior faculty and those with large families.”
The Berkeley Faculty Association letter objects to both a lack of transparency in the UC’s unilateral rate negotiation with health care plan providers and a lack of advance notice for the plan increases. The letter acknowledged that UCOP representatives cited inflation, preventative care during the pandemic, rising costs and clinical workforce shortages as causes for the price increases. However, the faculty association noted that they take issue with the information presented when UCOP was pressed to detail how these prices were negotiated and set.
Lucia, who is also a trustee of the United Auto Workers, or UAW, Union 5810 for university postdoctoral scholars and campus researchers, seconded these transparency concerns. She added that the UAW plans to organize in opposition to the increases, and alleged that UCOP did not notify any university union about price changes before open enrollment, although they had known months beforehand that premiums would have to increase. As of press time, UCOP representatives have not responded to requests for comment on these objections.
“Your approach serves not only to degrade and disrespect UC’s academic employees but also contributes to the ongoing severe erosion of UC’s teaching and research mission,” the Berkeley Faculty Association letter alleged. “You will be hearing more from us, the people in the UC community who are now learning how their lives and livelihoods will be devastated by the poorly warranted policy changes to our healthcare that UCOP has sprung on them.”
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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-regents-are-coming-to-ucla-nov-15.html.
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