CHAPARRAL

Affording Health Insurance that Works for All

How can GCC’s part-timers who need health coverage retain it?  The Guild is grappling with this issue. 

Background:

After years of intense political lobbying in Sacramento, community college part-time faculty won a small sum in the state budget dedicated to part-time health care. At GCC, the state’s contribution has been matched by college dollars (negotiated by the Guild for this purpose). And, unlike fulltime faculty, classified staff or administrators, part-timers who use the health care coverage must pay part of the premium every month.

As state funds decrease, and the cost of insurance rises, the individual part-time dollar contribution has risen. In order to stanch the spiraling expenses for part-timers, who are already the lowest compensated faculty, the Guild is now seeking a new type of coverage which would cost less.

Specifically, the Guild is asking the district to offer a lower cost Blue Shield program. This new alternative plan offers lower premiums and has features that are better than a catastrophic hospitalization-only program but requires a higher deductible contribution from the enrollee. The district contribution will be capped at an annual amount of $3,000 regardless of the type of enrollment chosen—single, couple or family. In exchange for this lowering of the total district contribution, the Guild will be asking the district to open all the plans that are now offered to full-time faculty to part-timers. These include Kaiser, Blue Shield PPO, the Blue Shield HMO as well as the new low-cost Blue Shield basic coverage.

Of course, like all health coverage issues, this process occurs through negotiations between the Guild and the district. As the process proceeds, you will be kept informed. Part-timers who want further details may contact me.

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