Snyder Signs Mich. Public Worker Health Cost Bill
LANSING (WWJ/P) - Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into a law a measure that will require many public employees with local governments and schools in Michigan to pay more for their health insurance coverage.
The new law was to be filed with the Department of State on Tuesday. Snyder signed the bill last weekend before leaving on a trade trip to Asia. The final version of the bill was approved by the Republican-led Legislature last month.
The legislation limits the amount of money a public employer can pay toward workers' health coverage, which will raise costs for workers in some cases. The caps range from $5,500 for a single employee to $15,000 for a family.
Local governments could opt to require employees to pay 20 percent of their coverage instead of a cap.
Talking to WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick last month, School Board Association lobbyist Don Wotrub said the proposal is popular among some on the local level.
"I think districts have been moving in a direction towards 80-20 or premium cost-sharing, but the time it would take to get there would be even years if we left it up to the locals," said Wotruba. "Schools can't afford that time frame. We need to try to move it in this direction in a much quicker period of time," he said.
State Democrats opposed the legislation, saying it should be left to the locals to decide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
