Forum takes on benefits

Hope met with skepticism Wednesday morning in Gerrard Hall as University employees discussed the contentious issue of state employee health care.

The problem of inadequate benefits has become a point of concern for state employees in the last several years as costs have risen while incomes have remained stagnant.

"This is a national problem," said N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange. "We're in a meltdown. If we can do something on a smaller scale, it would be a very important contribution to (workers') lives."

At the community meeting, hosted by the Employee Forum, University officials presented plans to improve benefits and listened intently to employee feedback.

During the meeting, employees overwhelmingly said the current state plan demands too much money from workers. Other issues discussed included dependent coverage, accessibility, alternative choices and long-term care.

Employees also voiced concern about understanding which of their needs are covered.

"This question of inadequacy of benefits for employees is an area of extreme concern," said Leslie Winner, vice president and general counsel for the UNC system. "We are well aware of the problem of costs."

A health care satisfaction survey was sent to all UNC-system employees last week to determine how they view the current plan.

"We know that the University needs to offer a more competitive health insurance program to retain our current employees and to recruit the best people in the future," stated Chancellor James Moeser in an e-mail sent to all UNC-CH employees last week.

As of Tuesday, 8,000 employees had responded, and officials are soliciting responses until Oct. 31. But during Wednesday's forum, some employees complained that the survey is inadequate.

"The survey was used around the country, and the University was only allowed to customize it to a certain degree," Winner explained. "The advantage of the survey is we are getting other e-mails back."

In hopes of finding a solution to the problem, the system's Office of the President has created a new task force that will examine ways in which the system can break with the state in offering health care.

The panel will travel to the 16 system schools and conduct discussion sessions with all employees. Winner said the program will give the task force the opportunity to experiment with changes that could be extended to all state employees.

Kinnaird said the issue of benefits will be a hot topic of discussion during the General Assembly's session this spring.

"I think we are going to have to address this, because it's getting worse every year," she said. "This state can't afford it anymore."

Judith Wegner, chairwoman of the faculty, said she believes that it is going to be a difficult process but that the University should be able to find a solution.

"We have the expertise here. I think we really need to be tapping into that," she said. "If we're smart about it, we'll be able to help the whole state think about what to do to improve the situation for everybody."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.