insurance carriers provided the benefits to participants are comparable and the City
elects the least expensive plan available to provide such benefits.
Should the City determine that it is in the best interests of the City to offer a
“comparable” plan to either option “a” or “b’’, it shall provide at least one hundred
twenty (120) days prior written notice to the Union and documentation of the cost
to members and the benefits that will provided under the comparable plan. Should
the Union determine that the proposed plan is not comparable, the grievance shall
not be subject to the grievance procedure and shall be submitted directly for
arbitration no later than thirty (30) days after the Union is notified of the proposed
change to the comparable plan. The grievance shall be heard in an expedited
manner. The decision of the arbitrator shall be binding on both parties.
Comparable Plan Definition: for the purposes of this Article, a comparable
plan means one that offers the same type of benefits, but benefits do not have to be
exactly the same. In addition, the plan must provide reasonable access to health
services and physicians, including specialists and hospitals.
Spouse Rule: Employees who are married to another employee of the city
who also subscribes to a plan will be subject to this rule. This rule requires that an
eligible member whose spouse is covered by another City health care plan elect the
policy under which the eligible member and spouse shall receive health care
benefits. An eligible member and spouse shall not be entitled to receive benefits
under separate City health care plans.
A.2. CITY CONTRIBUTIONS:
Effective October 1, 2011: For eligible members, effective October 1,
2011, the City shall contribute 70% of the premium of option (a) and 80% of the
premium of option (b). Upon the signing of this agreement, option (a) and option
(b) plans offered by the City shall include the following minimum co-pays:
(a) Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per medical visit;
(b) One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per emergency room hospital
visit;
(c) Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) Per Person, Five
Hundred Dollars ($500.00) Per 2-Person/Family Inpatient/
Outpatient Facility Deductible; and
(d) Three Tier Pharmacy Benefit of $5/$15/$35 ($5/$30/$70 Mail
Order).
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