Union for Docs at Student Health Centers

From the Daily Bruin: On Thursday, the University of California formally recognized the Union of American Physicians and Dentists as the exclusive representative of doctors working at any of the student health centers. The campaign to unionize began with a few University doctors who reached out to the union in December 2012. Physicians voted in April to appeal to the UC to recognize the union. Doctors were motivated to join the union because they want more input and autonomy in running the UC student health centers, said Dr. Stuart Bussey, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists…

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2013/11/22/uc-recognizes-union-of-american-physicians-and-dentists/

Letter from the Chair of the UCLA Faculty Assn.

Dear Colleagues,

The UCLA Faculty Association has a new Executive Board this year, and a full slate of complex issues to address. We appreciate your continued support, and encourage you to get involved in your FA.

As I’m sure you are aware, there have been significant changes to the health insurance offerings for University of California employees. The Faculty Associations at UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside have issued strongly-worded letters of protest about the lack of choices in the new plan offerings, and the lack of transparency in the process of choosing the options.

The UCLA Faculty Association also has been hearing from current and retired UCLA faculty with concerns about these changes. If you have something to say about the health care benefits, please send us an email: <uclafacultyassociation@gmail.com>.

You can read the UCSB and UCR FA statements online:
http://utotherescue.blogspot.com/2013/11/ucsb-fa-open-letter-to-president.html
http://utotherescue.blogspot.com/2013/11/ucr-faculty-association-letter-to.html

Our own Dan Mitchell has been keeping track of health care developments on the UCLA FA blog:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/search/label/health%20care

On behalf of the new Executive Board, I wish you a productive fall quarter.

Sincerely,

Toby Higbie (chair)

UCLA Faculty Association Executive Board, 2013-14
Toby Higbie, Chair
Dwight Read, Treasurer
Jean-Francois Blanchette
Christian Haesemeyer
Michael Meranze
Dan Mitchell
Malina Stefanovska
Roger Waldinger

Limited Order Bars Only About 50 Workers from UC One-Day Strike Today

Westwood demonstration during prior 2-day strike

We noted yesterday that UC sought an order through PERB barring certain critical workers from the one-day strike today.

According to the State Worker blog of the Sacramento Bee:

…A judge has banned a relative handful of employees who provide patient care at University of California medical facilities from participating in a statewide strike set for Wednesday. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge David I. Brown said that a strike by about 50 AFSCME-covered employees, mostly respiratory theratpists, would “create a substantial and imminent threat to the health and safety of the public and patients of the five UC Medical Centers.” Brown issued a temporary restraining order barring that group from a work stoppage…

Full story at http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/19/5927408/judge-bans-some-university-of.html

The CapitolAlert blog of the Bee reported:

…Lawmakers will join striking University of California workers at picket lines across the state today, backing union members who allege that management cracked down after a previous strike with a campaign of intimidation. Rallying legislators are expected to include Sen. Leland Yee in San Francisco, Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner in Berkeley, Assemblyman Mark Stone in Santa Cruz, Assemblyman Richard Pan in Davis, Sen. Alex Padilla in Los Angeles and Assemblywomen Lorena Gonzalez and Shirley Weber in San Diego…

Source: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/11/am-alert-lao-forecasts-californias-post-prop-30-financial-future.html

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/19/5927408/judge-bans-some-university-of.html#storylink=cpy

Listen to Regents Discuss Retiree Health on Nov. 14, 2013

We’ll post the audio for the entire Nov. 14 Regents meeting subsequently. However, below is a link just to a discussion of the issue of retiree health. As blog readers will likely know, as part of the open enrollment, UC retirees who are out of state are being dropped from UC programs and given a flat dollar contribution to buy their own policies from local exchanges. An external contractor – Extend Health – has been engaged to provide counseling for out-of-state retirees.

According to the back and forth between regents and UC administrators, this change will drop the liability to the retiree health program by $700 million. It was also pointed out that because the UC liability is limited to the flat dollar amount, the risk of health care costs has been transferred to the out-of-state retirees. In the course of the discussion, it appears that consideration is being given to apply the out-of-state approach at some point in the future to in-state retirees as well.

You can find a link to the discussion below: [Audio only with still picture.]

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Post by CalPolicy.

Info Needed on Open Enrollment Issues

We are getting anecdotal reports of problems encountered during the UC open enrollment period for the various health plans. If you are having problems at any UC campus, either with the actual plans that are now available or with the process of obtaining information and enrollment, let us know.

We are aware of problems with access to hospitals at Santa Barbara and Riverside and with out-of-California retirees who are being bumped off UC plans and given the phone number of an external consultant. But if you have more detailed points on any of those issues, we would like to know.

You can send your info to daniel.j.b.mitchell@anderson.ucla.edu or use the comment option on this posting. (You can comment anonymously but – as always – civility is important.)

Listen to the UC Regents: Nov. 12, 2013

As blog readers will know, we post audio of Regents meetings because the current regental policy is only to post their meetings for a year. But the meetings live on here! Yours truly has various commitments this week that will slow the posting. But a link to yesterday’s meeting is below.

The public comment session included speakers complaining about lack of affirmative action at UC (blocked by Prop 209), inadequate services for disabled students (including those with mental problems), and complaints about the appointment of Janet Napolitano. The last took up a good deal of time with demands that the Regents should fire her, made in part by a group of local high school students.

In a section on an audit report, it was noted that the U.S. Dept. of Energy owes UC $80 million for retiree health costs of nuclear lab retirees, thanks to the sequester. The outside auditor didn’t treat this money as a receivable because some Congressional action is needed for the payment to be made. Regents were concerned that not treating the money as a receivable would seem to imply that UC had written off the cost. However, the auditor insisted that proper accounting standards were being followed.

When capital projects were discussed, Regents remain concerned that when projects are approved (which as blog readers will know is “always”), the campuses are given a certain leeway for cost overruns. It is not clear how this concern will be resolved. A concern was also expressed that when projects are proposed with a price tag for construction attached, the price tag may become a floor on bids that might otherwise come in lower.

A new building for a rape treatment center near Santa Monica-UCLA hospital was approved. The costs are being paid for by an outside operator of the center.

You can listen to the audio at the link below:

Note: Although it will be awhile before we can post the audio for today’s session of the Regents, President Napolitano announced there would be no tuition increase for 2014-15, according to news reports. See http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/11/university-of-california-president-proposes-tuition-freeze.html

Really No Smoking (or Chewing)

From the Oakland Tribune: [excerpt]

A systemwide smoking ban at University of California campuses includes the controversial electronic cigarette, a tobacco smoking device whose backers claim is safer than traditional smokes. The ban takes effect Jan. 2 and includes smokeless tobacco, or chew.

About 10 percent of UC employees smoke cigarettes, and 8 percent of students smoke, according to a fact sheet compiled by the university. The information kit does not say how many use the new electronic cigarettes on UC campuses or in the state, but a lobbying group for the retailers who sell the devices says about 4 million people across the country use them.

“We don’t know what the long term health affects are,” said Josh Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health in the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley and a member of the UC committee that wrote the smoking ban…

Full story at http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_24452558/uc-pulls-plug-electronic-cigs-systemwide-smoking-ban

Apparently, the old UC anti-smoking rules were too Loose-y…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ALtcAO69M?feature=player_detailpage]

The Regents are Coming

Regents: 1964 Edition

In fact, there will be a meeting tomorrow of the Regents Committee on Investments, primarily to review returns on the UC portfolios and those of the campus foundations. See:
http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/nov5.html

Next week’s meetings (Nov. 12-14) are beginning to be posted as of this morning. Agenda items are available but not detailed attachments. See:
http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/nov13.html

You might be curious to know about an item entitled “Participation in Joint Venture to Establish and Operate a Rehabilitation Hospital, Los Angeles Campus.” Too bad if you are. It will be discussed only in a closed session:
http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/nov13/hsx.pdf

Possible UC strike

Demonstration in Westwood after previous strike

From the LA Times:

Members of the union that represents 22,000 service workers and patient care employees at UC campuses and hospitals have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a possible strike in the future if a contract agreement is not reached, officials said Friday. Ninety-six percent of the members of AFSCME 3299 voted to allow union leaders to call a strike if they decide it is necessary. If a strike happens, it would be the second this year and a potentially wider one, possibly affecting the 10 campuses and the five medical centers. In late May, the same union conducted a two-day strike at the UC hospitals… UC officials say that the main issue is that the union refuses to accept a new pension plan, similar to that of many other UC and state workers, that requires higher employee contributions and reduces long-term benefits for new hires…

Full article at http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-uc-strike-20131101,0,6908828.story

Hints While You Puzzle Through Your Health Insurance Options from a Blog Reader

As we are coming up to the open enrollment period for the various health insurance options, Prof. Bill Zame of Economics sent me an email with a cautionary note readers may want to consider. (Edited excerpt):

When insurance plans use the term “out of pocket maximums,” they do not mean what an ordinary lay person would mean by the term. As used by the insurance industry and the [open enrollment] plans, only healthcare expenses that are “ordinary and necessary” (by [industry] standards) are included toward “out of pocket maximums” and only charges that are deemed to be in the range normally charged for services are included toward “out of pocket maximums.” If one had a treatment that the insurance company/plan deemed “experimental,” it would likely not be covered directly and the costs incurred would not be counted toward “out of pocket maximums.” If one chose a surgeon/hospital not in a participating provider group, the plan would pay only a fraction ([perhaps] 40% or 50%) of what a participating provider would charge and count only the remainder of what a participating provider would charge toward “out of pocket maximums.” This is, of course, not a small matter; uncovered charges for treatments deemed “experimental” or for service charges higher than those a participating provider could charge [could be large. For example,] CT scans, MRI’s, and hospitalization charges could easily run to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Open enrollment runs Oct. 28 – Nov. 26. There is a link at UC benefits concerning the various plan changes and options at http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/oe/index.html.