Health benefit trustees named

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Gov. Ben Cayetano has announced his appointment of a 10-member board of trustees to oversee a new trust fund established this year to create health benefit plans for 83,000 public employees and retirees in Hawai'i.

The 2001 Legislature passed a law to create the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund and eliminate the health plans now provided through the public worker unions. Under the new law, state and county contributions to pay for public worker health benefits would be negotiated between the unions and the state and counties, and the trust fund would then buy the best package of benefits it can afford with the money available.

"The trustees will carry out a legislative mandate to design new health plans that will help safeguard public employees' health benefits well into the future," Cayetano said. "Inflation and dramatic increases in the cost of health care across the nation are jeopardizing the state's financial ability to cover the cost of health benefits, which is growing six times faster than the state budget each year."

The trustees will hold their first meeting in January. New health benefit plans are to be implemented July 1, 2003. As required, five trustees represent the state and five trustees to represent employee unions.

Those appointed to represent the state are: Cayetano's chief of staff Sam Callejo, state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations deputy director Audrey Hidano, state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs director Kathryn Matayoshi, state Department of Budget and Finance director Neal Miyahira, and state Department of Human Resources Development director and negotiator Davis Yogi.

Those who will represent the unions are: Hawaii State Teachers Association vice president Joan Lewis, Hawaii Government Employees Association executive assistant Willard Miyake, Clifford Uwaine of the United Public Workers Union, Trust for Emergent Education president James Williams and retiree James Yasuda.

All will serve four-year terms, except Uwaine and Williams, whose terms end Dec. 31, 2004, and Yasuda, whose term ends Dec. 31, 2003.