Cayetano vows veto of health law repeal
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief
Gov. Ben Cayetano vowed yesterday to veto any attempt to roll back a new law that is expected to cut the cost of public employee health benefits.
With public worker unions expected to mount a campaign to pressure lawmakers into backtracking on the measure, Cayetano reiterated his support for it.
"I think that if they repeal the law next year, then they'll have to override my veto. I don't think they're going to repeal it," Cayetano told reporters yesterday.
In the final days of session this week, lawmakers approved a bill to require unions to negotiate with the state and counties to determine how much government will contribute for employee health benefits.
That is a major change from the current system, where public worker health benefits are set by law, and the state and counties pay for that coverage without negotiations over the cost.
The bill would also cap the amounts the state pays for retiree coverage, and would eliminate union-sponsored health plans that are currently paid for out of the health fund. That means thousands of public worker union members will have to change health plans, which has upset many public employees.
Proponents say the measure would save the state $65 million in the first year after the system is changed, but critics contend that estimate is wrong.
Cayetano signed the bill into law Thursday, but many of its provisions don't take effect until 2003. The bill barely passed in the Senate on a 13-12 vote, and the unions have promised to return to the state Capitol next year to lobby for changes or outright repeal.
Joan Husted, executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said teachers are angry about the health fund bill because it will shift teachers from an HSTA-sponsored medical plan to a new state plan.
"They are just furious," she said. "They are very concerned about what they believe was a very well-run health plan, a very open health plan audited under IRS, and all of a sudden they are going to lose it, and they don't understand why."
