Public Employee Press

Unions set to monitor merger of HIP and GHI

With most of its members and retirees enrolled in the GHI and HIP health plans, DC 37 is keeping a sharp eye on their recently announced merger.

Combining Group Health Inc. and HIP Health Plan, New York would form the largest health insurer in New York State. The move reflects a nationwide trend of consolidation within the health care industry.

Rosaria R. Esperon, administrator of the DC 37 Health and Security Plan, said the GHI and HIP merger shouldn’t have any immediate impact on participants.

“As the merger proceeds, we will work closely with GHI and HIP to ensure that our members and retirees continue to receive the health care service that they expect,” Esperon said.

“We are going to monitor the transition closely,” said Dennis Sullivan, director of the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept. “We hope the merger will actually improve benefits. It’s logical that joining two large health care companies would in the long run give our members and retirees access to more medical facilities and a larger physician base.”

Most members in GHI or HIP
Of the 120,000 members and 50,000 retirees DC 37 represents, about 90,000 are in GHI and some 36,000 are in HIP.

The Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella group that negotiates with the city over health benefits, will closely study how the merger will affect the financing of health care for city workers.

For decades, the city has determined how much it pays for each employee and retiree through a formula based on HIP’s cost per individual. In the near future, the funding method need not change, because both companies will continue to operate independently for the time being. Later, as the companies consolidate their operations, it will probably be necessary to modify the formula.