Branstad: Officials Should Pay Part of Health Care

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) - Gov. Terry Branstad urged the Legislature on Friday to require elected officials to pay more for their health care coverage.

Speaking on the public television program "Iowa Press," Branstad suggested that elected officials pay 20 percent of their health care costs and set an example for other state workers.

Earlier this week, Republicans lawmakers proposed that all state workers pay $200 a month toward their health insurance. But Branstad knew there'd be a big hurdle to clear.

"You'd have to be able to get the union to agree to reopen the contact," he said.

Within minutes of the GOP proposal, Danny Homan, head of the largest state worker union, said he had "no intention" of reopening the contract.

Branstad said he is still interested in dealing with health care costs, even though he has ruled out the GOP proposal.

"We can't have 84 percent of our state employees pay nothing toward their health insurance," he said. "People need to have some skin in the game, people have to take some ownership of their own health, so this is something we definitely need to address."

A telephone message left for Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Homan said in a phone interview Friday that union bargainers have negotiated agreements to help trim the state's health care costs, but they are complicated.

"People don't understand what's going on," Homan said.

Branstad said there's no quick fix on the state's health costs, and warned that Republicans are looking to tackle "lucrative" benefits found in state worker contracts over the years.

The governor didn't give an estimate of how much the state would save if elected officials were forced to pay 20 percent, a figure that he conceded was arbitrary. However, Branstad argued many private-sector workers wish they were responsible for just 20 percent of health care costs. He said he can appreciate the issue, as he paid for health insurance after his first tenure as governor.

"If you are a farmer or self-insured, you pay 100 percent," Branstad said. "I know what people are paying out there, and it's a lot."