The new deal to temporarily prevent wholesale layoffs at the city municipal unions was applauded by the Daily News editorial board today:
“[L]abor chiefs agreed to require hundreds of thousands of workers and retirees to pony up co-pays when they get some medical care. For municipal workers, this is a revolutionary concept. For everyone in the private sector, it’s standard operating procedure.”
But is the deal the city reached that revolutionary?
“It’s a good start,” said Carol Kellermann, president of the Citizen Budget Commission, an independent watchdog group.
According to the new deal, union members will have to pay a $50 co-pay for emergency room visits, and a $100 co-pay to be admitted to am “in-patient facility”–mainly hospitals.
