Unlike regular contract negotiations where each of the state’s unions negotiates their individual contracts with the State, the healthcare plans offered to employees are negotiated jointly in a coalition. Because having different healthcare plans for each collective bargaining group would lose economies of scale and be difficult to manage, this approach has been beneficial to state employees by using the leverage of a massive pool of insured people to achieve plan offerings that meet people’s needs and are fiscally prudent. Healthcare negotiations run in tandem with normal contract ... Read More >>
Insurance updates
Health Plan Changes for Employees Who Have Divorced With Former Spouses and Children on Their Insurance
The Minnesota office of Management and Budget has changed its policy on insurance coverage that will directly affect employees who have divorced and still have their ex-spouses on their health insurance plans. MMB interpreted Minnesota law as requiring health insurance coverage for former spouses and children, but in light of federal IRS rules on “imputed income”, has changed its interpretation of the Minnesota law. The approximately 750 State employees in this situation need to take immediate action. Employees with ex-spouses and children currently on their family coverage will have ... Read More >>
Open Enrollment is Open October 25th – November 13th
The statewide Joint Labor Management Committee met October 15th to discuss changes to next year’s health plan. There aren’t any large-scale changes in this off-cycle year, but there are some items to pay attention to. MOST important is Open Enrollment from October 25th-November 13th. Bear in mind that Veteran’s Day is right before the close of open enrollment; don’t wait until the last minute to review your coverages and make any changes! Two items discussed at the Joint Labor Management Committee (the task force that negotiates healthcare) include ensuring that you make elections that ... Read More >>
Insurance Bargaining Introduction
Like the MGEC labor agreement, your healthcare as a State employee is negotiated at the bargaining table. But there are some key differences between contract negotiations and healthcare negotiations. The first is timing. The worlds of healthcare and the state’s budget biennium do not line up; it isn’t feasible to have one contract operate with two sets of timelines. As a result, while what happens in healthcare negotiations influences and is referenced in the regular contract, they operate separately in practice. Secondly, like almost all public employers, there is only one healthcare ... Read More >>
State Employee Group Insurance Plan (SEGIP)
Open Enrollment - All benefits except short term disability will be included in open enrollment this year. October 26 - Nov. 15. Information will be posted on the website (https://mn.gov/mmb/segip/) by Oct. 12, 2023. Preferred One was acquired by UnitedHealthcare and will no longer be a provider in SEGIP starting in 2024. State employees will be able to choose from Blue Cross Blue Shield and Health Partners. January 1, 2024 health insurance premiums will increase by 3.0%. See Premium Rates chart. ... Read More >>
Insurance Bargaining Update
Insurance Bargaining concluded on Thursday, June 1. A tentative agreement was reached between the union coalition and the State of Minnesota to provide healthcare for all state employees for the next two years. Unlike previous bargaining cycles where the employer came to the bargaining table with take-away, regressive proposals and we fought to maintain coverage, this year features discussions that actively improve the healthcare experience. Some of the notable features of this year’s agreement include: 6% and 2.7% premium increases for the respective years of the agreement; $0 ... Read More >>