Hochul's LaSalle pick is unsurprising. She's also defunding union health benefits | Opinion

Many New York State union members are pushing back against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s chief judge pick of Hector LaSalle. James Mahoney, President of the New York State District Council of Iron Workers, railed against Gov. Hochul’s choice two weeks ago, exclaiming, “She promised us that we were going to have a seat at the table. She put us on the menu.”

Unfortunately, Hochul’s administration has also put the healthcare benefits of 1.2 million New York state employees on the menu as well. Starting in July 2023, there will be significant cuts planned to the out-of-network benefits of the New York State Health Insurance Program Empire Plan enrollees, many of whom are union members. These cuts will significantly diminish the comprehensive access to care that state employees and union members currently enjoy with the Empire Plan.

These cuts are being marketed by the state as a cost control mechanism that will encourage in-network utilization. Anyone can read in between the lines and call it what it is: Gov. Hochul’s administration is defunding the Empire Plan off the backs of union members and their families.

Many of our union member patients have required life-saving emergency treatments, as well as critical elective services, that were fully covered by the Empire Plan. Emergency cardiac catheterizations to save someone after a heart attack. Emergency spinal surgery to prevent spinal cord injury. Emergency brain bleed evacuations. Breast reconstruction surgery after a breast tumor resection. Breast reduction surgery to allow female detectives to wear their bullet proof vests. These cuts will directly impact such emergency and elective care and will cause Plan enrollees, and patients in this state as a whole, to lose access to these critical medical services that saved their lives.

Gov. Hochul’s administration will argue that from 2012-2016, only 16% of Empire Plan members utilized out-of-network services and most enrollees will be just fine. This is far from the truth. Cutting out-of-network services will destroy choice and access for enrollees. Ultimately, union members’ in-network benefits will significantly degrade as United Healthcare, which administers the Empire Plan, pushing more and more physicians out-of-network to discourage the utilization of healthcare services.

Are union members paying less for such a drastic cut in their health benefits? Nope! The mind-boggling reality is that bi-weekly Empire Plan premiums for a family will increase to $241.79 in 2023, from $219.75 in 2022. Union members are receiving significantly less access to healthcare for themselves and their families and paying significantly more. Make that make sense.

Many of our patients who are rank and file union members are understandably upset when they are told of these impending cuts. Many took public sector jobs and were willing to take lower salaries in exchange for comprehensive health benefits for themselves and their families.  In addition, many of our patients were on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping our state running and putting their families and own lives at risk; these cuts are insulting and completely unfair to them.

We call on Hochul to reconsider such drastic cuts to the NYSHIP Empire Plan.  Our patients who have done so much for New York State deserve better.

Sincerely,

These New York physicians:

Daniel Haller, MD, FACS, Acute Care Surgeon

Arain Abdul, MD; Orthopaedic Surgery

Nikhil Agrawal, MD; Plastic Surgery

Shahriyour Andaz, MD; Thoracic Surgery

Ahmad Badri, MD; Orthopaedic Surgery

Houma Badri, DPM; Foot and Ankle Surgery

Svetlana Danovich, MD; Plastic Surgery

Tim Henderson, MD; Orthopaedic Surgery

Deborah Ibrahim, MD; Physiatry

Dina Ibrahim, DPM; Foot and Ankle Surgery

Hemant Kalia, MD; Pain Management

Faisal Mahmood, MD; Orthopaedic Surgery

Tyrone Mayorga, DPM; Foot and Ankle Surgery

Frank Ocasio, MD; Pain Management

Purvi Parikh, MD; Allergy and Immunology

David Parizh, DO; Plastic Surgery

Claudia Rios, MD; Internal Medicine

Edward Rubin, MD; Pain Management

Daniel Sajewski, MD; Anesthesiology

Steven Schulman, MD; Anesthesiology

Faisal Siddiqi, MD; Cardiology

Simon Smith, DO; Cardiology

Kim Tucker, MD; Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Hector LaSalle's appointment is trouble for NY labor benefits