Nassau County officials are scrambling to find new health insurance after a plan to offer it to thousands of public employees backfired, blowing a $43 million hole in the county's fiscal 2024 budget.
About 4,200 county employees represented by CSEA Local 830, the county's largest employee union, agreed last year to move from the state's Empire Plan to the Excelsior Plan in exchange for wage increases and signing-on bonuses, saving the county about $280 million over the life of the 13-year contract. Nassau County's current budget is about $4 billion.
But those savings won't materialize because Excelsior Plan is expected to go bankrupt due to its low enrollment, an insurance company that employees say offers limited coverage and leaves patients to pay much of the cost of prescription drugs and doctor's visits. The state has given the county until Oct. 1 to find a new insurer or put employees back on their old plan.
If a replacement for Excelsior with comparable coverage doesn't materialize within the next two months, employees will be transitioned to the Empire Plan, at a significant cost to the county. Mayor Persick said the county is hiring a health care consultant to help find a new plan.
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Nassau County officials are scrambling to find new health insurance after a plan to reduce the coverage offered to thousands of state employees backfired, blowing a $43 million hole in the county budget for fiscal year 2024. About 4,200 county employees represented by CSEA Local 830, the county's largest employee union, agreed last year to move from the state's Empire Plan to the Excelsior Plan. If an alternative to Excelsior with comparable coverage doesn't materialize within the next two months, employees will be moved to the Empire Plan, which would come at a significantly higher cost to the county.
The union and the county appear to be at an impasse over options.
The $646 million in employee benefits funding included in this fiscal year's approved budget falls short of the $689 million needed, according to the county's Office of Management and Budget monthly financial report and testimony from the county budget director earlier this month.
“We're in a bind right now because our collective bargaining agreement with CSEA has gone a little awry,” Nassau County Budget Director Andy Persick told lawmakers during a budget council meeting Aug. 5. “We're in active negotiations with the CSEA union to resolve that issue. I don't want to say any more about it, but that's what's happening right now.”
Wendy Bowie, spokeswoman for CSEA's Long Island region, said representatives from the union and the county met to negotiate future health care plans for members.
“However, the county abruptly terminated discussions and canceled further talks. CSEA hopes to return to the negotiating table with the county in the near future to reach an agreement for the benefit of CSEA members,” Bowie told Newsday on Thursday.
Nassau County Mayor Bruce Blakeman and CSEA leaders agreed to a contract in August 2023 that would increase wages by about 25 percent over 13 years.
Blakeman did not respond to questions seeking comment on the case, including whether and how the county plans to make up for lost savings over the next 13 years. County labor attorney Peter Bee declined to comment.
Nassau Interim Finance Authority Chairman Richard Kessel told Newsday that the financial oversight committee is concerned about how much the costs of the CSEA contract will increase and whether the changes could force the reopening of other collective bargaining agreements.
“Obviously, we are concerned about this and are monitoring it closely as it could have significant impacts on the county's finances,” Kessel said.
“The Blakeman Administration promised Congress and CSEA that this agreement was in everyone's interest, but it's now clear that it's not in anyone's interest,” said Assemblywoman Delliece DeRiggi Whitton (D-Glen Cove).
“At the end of the day, it's the taxpayers who will pay the price for his failure,” she said.
A report released in September by the county’s Legislative Budget Review Office said switching all active employees and retirees to the Excelsior Plan achieved 75% of the county’s overall savings in the contract.
While the contract contains a clause that allows the county to reinstate the contract, Bowie argues that “that clause only applies if employees fail to transition to the Excelsior Plan. In this case, all employees have transitioned. Therefore, that clause does not apply.”
The county is required to provide those employees with mutually agreed-upon health insurance, and the union is asking that its members' contributions remain at the same level as before, Bowie said.
CSEA retirees were not required to switch to the Excelsior Plan: They sued the county over the switch to the Excelsior Plan and won a court order blocking the health insurance changes in December 2023. The litigation is ongoing.
There are about 5,500 retirees who are eligible for insurance through the union but who did not vote for the collective bargaining agreement.
Candace Ferrett covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter for Newsday since 2011.
