Health Care
Your web source on union-negotiated benefits

Flexible Spending Account open enrollment runs Oct. 6 - 31
Sept. 2, 2008 - Starting a Flexible Spending Account to pay health care expenses or to pay for childcare or other dependent care expenses is a smart way to save money each year. Get the details and find out how to sign up. The deadline is Oct. 31. FULL STORY

Why should OCSEA members care about the cost of health care?

Because health care costs affect public employees and their families!

We bargain hard for our benefits, but with health care costs growing three times faster than wages, we’re often forced to give up well-deserved wage increases just to keep our health care.

At the same time, more than 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance because they can’t afford it.

BUT it’s not just families who can’t afford health insurance, it’s also governments.

Governments purchase health care for a variety of groups including the sick, disabled and elderly as well as inmates in correc tional facilities.

When health care costs go up, government budgets are squeezed. When that happens, OCSEA members’ job security is at risk.  

News Archives...

OCSEA negotiates health care benefits
The Joint Health Care Committee (JHCC) is a labor management committee responsible for monitoring all health care benefits—except vision, dental and life.

Helpful Resources To help you help yourself address health care issue for you and your families, we offer a variety of useful resources and links. Some items direct you to union-negotiated benefits that could have a positive impact your health, while others link you to non-OCSEA health care Web sites. Also, links for injured workers are included.

Committee Work If you ever wondered what takes place behind the scenes between contract negotiations sessions, check out the Joint Health Care Committee (JHCC) section.

Premium Holiday FAQ - Union members were pleased that the current contract held the line on the cost of many health care components and even offers several improvements. The health care plan includes a premium “holiday” – a month where no premium is due – in both 2006 and 2007. LEARN MORE