State CSEA sues Nassau County over health care plan change
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman at a news conference early this month. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Health insurance for thousands of Nassau Civil Service employees hangs in the balance as the ongoing fight between their union leadership and County Executive Bruce Blakeman has gone to court.
The state's Civil Service Employees Association, which represents about 4,000 county employees, took the rare step of suing Nassau County government over health coverage changes they negotiated in the most recent collective bargaining agreement, rejecting new health plans the Blakeman administration offered last month.
The litigation comes on the heels of another unprecedented move by state CSEA president Mary Sullivan: Stripping power from Local 830 president Ron Gurrieri and vice president Bob Arciello after more than 1,700 signatures calling for their removal was presented to the state. Sullivan appointed two administrators to continue the day-to-day operations of the local chapter, according to an Oct. 21 letter send to members, obtained by Newsday.
According to court papers filed Nov. 6 in state Supreme Court, CSEA attorneys want a judge to put the employees back into their previous state health insurance plan, Empire, which provides lower out-of-pocket costs.
County officials had to scramble over the summer to find new plans to cover the employees on Jan. 1 because the plan in their contract, the state's Excelsior plan, is discontinuing at the end of this year.
The administration offered the Anthem Blue Access PPO Plan or an Anthem High Deductible Health Plan, which would require employees with a family plan to pay $5,000 in out-of-pocket medical costs before coverage kicks in, according to the lawsuit.
"Many CSEA Local 830 bargaining unit employees cannot afford $5,000 in initial health care costs and will have to choose whether to forgo care that they or their family members may need to live," CSEA attorneys wrote in court filings.
Blakeman, a Republican, settled the CSEA contract in August 2023. In February, state officials announced the Excelsior plan would end. County spokesman Chris Boyle did not return messages seeking comment on the recent legal action Thursday.
The move from Empire to Excelsior was to save the county about $280 million over the course of CSEA's 13-year contract. Nassau's 2024 budget is about $4 billion. The 2025 budget, which awaits approval by the county's financial watchdog group, is $4.2 billion and does not raise property taxes.
CSEA represents county employees with various jobs titles ranging from certified nursing assistants and emergency personnel to clerical staff and highway maintenance workers. CSEA spokesperson Wendi Bowie as well as the attorneys who filed the lawsuit declined to comment on Thursday.
CSEA member Susan Naftol, who has worked for the county since 2018, said the uncertainty over 2025 health coverage is alarming for many employees.
"To not know where we stand with our medical coverage is very scary," said Naftol, who works in the Health Department.
She said there are hardship stories among many of the members with preexisting conditions who are county employees that "keep the wheels of county government going" and chose Civil s Service jobs for benefits that "makes the terrible salaries palatable."
"We are literally on the front lines here doing the county's work for the citizens and then to be treated like we are not worthy of good coverage — it's outrageous," Naftol said.
Nassau County Budget Director Andy Persich, in testimony to the county legislature in August, estimated a 2024 budget gap as high as $43 million as a result of the discontinuation of Excelsior.
Mary Studdert, spokesperson for Republicans who hold a 12-7 majority in the county legislature, declined to comment Thursday, citing pending litigation.
Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said her caucus "remains supportive of all active and retired CSEA membership" but declined to comment further.
Health insurance for thousands of Nassau Civil Service employees hangs in the balance as the ongoing fight between their union leadership and County Executive Bruce Blakeman has gone to court.
The state's Civil Service Employees Association, which represents about 4,000 county employees, took the rare step of suing Nassau County government over health coverage changes they negotiated in the most recent collective bargaining agreement, rejecting new health plans the Blakeman administration offered last month.
The litigation comes on the heels of another unprecedented move by state CSEA president Mary Sullivan: Stripping power from Local 830 president Ron Gurrieri and vice president Bob Arciello after more than 1,700 signatures calling for their removal was presented to the state. Sullivan appointed two administrators to continue the day-to-day operations of the local chapter, according to an Oct. 21 letter send to members, obtained by Newsday.
According to court papers filed Nov. 6 in state Supreme Court, CSEA attorneys want a judge to put the employees back into their previous state health insurance plan, Empire, which provides lower out-of-pocket costs.
County officials had to scramble over the summer to find new plans to cover the employees on Jan. 1 because the plan in their contract, the state's Excelsior plan, is discontinuing at the end of this year.
The administration offered the Anthem Blue Access PPO Plan or an Anthem High Deductible Health Plan, which would require employees with a family plan to pay $5,000 in out-of-pocket medical costs before coverage kicks in, according to the lawsuit.
"Many CSEA Local 830 bargaining unit employees cannot afford $5,000 in initial health care costs and will have to choose whether to forgo care that they or their family members may need to live," CSEA attorneys wrote in court filings.
Blakeman, a Republican, settled the CSEA contract in August 2023. In February, state officials announced the Excelsior plan would end. County spokesman Chris Boyle did not return messages seeking comment on the recent legal action Thursday.
The move from Empire to Excelsior was to save the county about $280 million over the course of CSEA's 13-year contract. Nassau's 2024 budget is about $4 billion. The 2025 budget, which awaits approval by the county's financial watchdog group, is $4.2 billion and does not raise property taxes.
CSEA represents county employees with various jobs titles ranging from certified nursing assistants and emergency personnel to clerical staff and highway maintenance workers. CSEA spokesperson Wendi Bowie as well as the attorneys who filed the lawsuit declined to comment on Thursday.
CSEA member Susan Naftol, who has worked for the county since 2018, said the uncertainty over 2025 health coverage is alarming for many employees.
"To not know where we stand with our medical coverage is very scary," said Naftol, who works in the Health Department.
She said there are hardship stories among many of the members with preexisting conditions who are county employees that "keep the wheels of county government going" and chose Civil s Service jobs for benefits that "makes the terrible salaries palatable."
"We are literally on the front lines here doing the county's work for the citizens and then to be treated like we are not worthy of good coverage — it's outrageous," Naftol said.
Nassau County Budget Director Andy Persich, in testimony to the county legislature in August, estimated a 2024 budget gap as high as $43 million as a result of the discontinuation of Excelsior.
Mary Studdert, spokesperson for Republicans who hold a 12-7 majority in the county legislature, declined to comment Thursday, citing pending litigation.
Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said her caucus "remains supportive of all active and retired CSEA membership" but declined to comment further.
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
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