Regarding State Employees Health Plan Costs
A RESOLUTION OF THE EMPLOYEE FORUM
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
April 6, 2005
WHEREAS, the Mission of the Employee Forum is to address constructively the concerns of employees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including the representation of staff concerns to University officials, state legislators, and the citizenry of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, the Employee Forum recognizes that state employees bear the full cost of family health coverage and that, over the last five years, the cost for coverage has increased at an alarming rate; and
WHEREAS, an employee earning $25,000 pays 26.5% of gross pay for the State Health Plan benefit package1; and,
WHEREAS, an employee earning $75,000 pays 12.8% of gross pay for the State Health Plan benefit package2; and
WHEREAS, these figures rank North Carolina 8th out of 8 in comparison with eight other Southeastern State Governments3; and
WHEREAS, in North Carolina, state employees and retirees pay more for family health benefits; state “employees ‘take home’ a significantly smaller share of their pay checks than employees in other states”4 and “also pay high out-of-pocket medical expenses compared to employees in other states”5; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Employee Forum of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is resolutely and categorically opposed to any increases in employee costs or reductions in coverage associated with any aspect of the State Health Plan that may be enacted in the North Carolina State budget 05–07 biennium of 2005; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Employee Forum of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill strongly recommends that the Chancellor and his Administration convey and support publicly the concepts of this resolution in dealings with the University’s Office of the President and the North Carolina state legislature.
To be signed on Behalf of the Delegates of the Employee Forum,
Chair, Tommy Griffin
1“Faculty and Staff Benefits at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, An Update,” Departmental Study and presentation to the Employee Forum, Department of Human Resources, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004.
2Ibid.
3Ibid.
4Ibid.
5Ibid.