TSEU Legislative Agenda 2019-2020
for more information, please contact TSEU Political Organizer Tyler Sheldon in the Austin TSEU office (512.448.4225)
UPDATING SOME OF THE INFORMATION BELOW
Maintain Access to Quality Health Care Benefits
Because state employee salaries have fallen further and further behind the cost of living every year, our health care benefits have become even more important in attracting and retaining qualified staff. Health care benefits are a crucial reason why many people choose to work for the state. If both state employee pay is low and our health care benefits are unaffordable, the already high turnover rate for state workers will skyrocket and the quality of services we provide for all Texans will be seriously undermined.
Health costs keep rising every year
Basic premium contributions – the money taken out of employees’ paychecks every month – have been rising every year. In the last 10 years, the monthly employee deduction for family coverage has increased by more than 69%. These hikes are on top of constantly increasing out-of-pocket expenses: co-pays, deductibles, etc. The health care cost hikes are also on top of declining pay because salaries have not kept up with inflation.
Dependent health coverage is too expensive for many state employees and takes a bigger bite from low pay
About 1 out of every 10 children of state employees are uninsured, or they are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP
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Fully fund ERS’s request for $530 million above its baseline budget to maintain access to quality health care for employees and retirees.
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