Maintain OHSU Healthcare Benefits!
OHSU Board of Directors
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Not only has OHSU leadership denied any increases to benefits, but has instead slashed benefits that will directly affect tens of thousands of employees. After coming to the table and declaring they would not be funding current benefits, OHSU then laid out a number of proposals to the Employee Benefit Council that can all be summed up as "Pick Your Poison" and asked the EBC what benefits should be cut so that OHSU can save money while it simultaneously gave out millions in executive bonuses.
OHSU healthcare benefits are critical to all employees who work for OHSU, and having access to affordable healthcare is a major driving force for attracting and retaining talent. Taking away benefits for those who are most in need while also paying millions in executive bonuses is unacceptable to the Local Unions, the EBC, as well as our Unrepresented siblings at OHSU which is why we ask everyone to sign our petition demanding our benefits be funded, expanded, and never cut in times when bonuses are being paid.
Sponsored by
To:
OHSU Board of Directors
From:
[Your Name]
We, the working people and families of Oregon Health & Sciences University, petition OHSU Health to provide for better than status quo healthcare to all members of the OHSU community. It has come to our attention that the OHSU Board of Directors has provided an operating budget below what is necessary to maintain healthcare benefits, necessitating increases in out of pocket costs to all members of the OHSU community. This decision was made despite widespread dissatisfaction with current benefit levels and cost amongst OHSU members and the Employee Benefits Council. These proposed cost increases will jeopardize workers' state of healthcare benefits and not allow for the needed improvements and expansion of existing benefits.
We have heard repeatedly from OHSU executives that “recruitment is OHSU’s superpower” and yet we see a constant push toward austerity measures that serve to diminish the quality of working life at OHSU and place our lowest paid employees at increased risk of catastrophic medical debt. It is well understood this drive to reduce costs to the University will increase costs to employees, with OHSU’s lowest paid employees shouldering the majority of this burden with working families covering ever increasing healthcare costs to counteract the shortfall from those
cuts.
Part of OHSU’s vision for 2025 is that “We not only treat the most complex health needs in the region, we make discoveries that save lives and train leaders to address the societal issues that impede health.” One of the largest factors that “impede health” is cost, and OHSU’s plan to offload costs to employees will only serve to worsen unequal and inequitable access to healthcare services amongst OHSU employees. Additionally, the current budget does not allow for benefit expansion explicitly requested, which will result in the continuation of historical injustices of OHSU’s benefit plan by not expanding family planning and fertility services, refusing to pay for weight loss medications and the continued burden of rising over the counter medication costs to our fellow workers and families.
We, the undersigned, demand the following:
1. An adequate budget for healthcare benefits for OHSU employees that expands access and maintains out of pocket costs of healthcare for every OHSU member and their families year over year
2. Expansion of healthcare benefits to include improved fertility and family planning
services for all employees, coverage of weight loss medications and coverage of over
the counter medications as outlined by the Employee Resource Groups and Employee Benefits Council
3. Ongoing commitment to prioritize employee benefits over executive compensation and bonuses.