WARF ALERT - WMU-AAUP

WARF ALERT
(WARF ELECTION RESULTS AND RETIREE HEALTH
INSURANCE RATES)
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WARF ELECTION RESULTS
Congratulations to Emily Hoffman, Richard Cooper and Charles Spaniolo, newly elected
to three year terms (2015-2017) on the WARF Steering Committee. One hundred thirtytwo ballots were returned. We are very happy and appreciative of this return and welcome
these new Steering Committee members. They join continuing members William Appel,
Lyn Bartley, Ron Crowell, Barbara Havira, Philip Micklin and Pam Rooney.
On your behalf, we thank retiring Steering Committee members Patricia Klein and Bob
Poel for their extended and thoughtful service. In addition to attending monthly meetings,
Pat served as secretary and Bob served as treasurer and played a major role in WARF's
"Navigating the Health Care System" sessions. The ninth member of the WARF Steering
Committee, Philip Kramer, had resigned for personal reasons earlier in 2014.
RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE - 2015 RATES
The WARF Steering Committee has received several comments and questions regarding
2015 retiree health insurance rate increases. In response, the WARF Steering Committee
arranged to meet on December 11th with Cynthia Klekar, WMU-AAUP Chief Negotiator,
Warren Hills, WMU Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, and
Robert Kakuk, Director of Human Resources. We hoped to gain insight into the factors
behind these rates. Although we learned quite a lot, the picture remains incomplete. We
did learn that overall health care costs for the University dropped in 2014 compared to
2013, but the University dropped the subsidy that it had been providing for retiree
dependents, which resulted in substantial increases in premiums for dependents. The
WARF Steering Committee will continue their inquiries in the new year, including
investigating insurance options from other carriers for retirees and/or spouses and
dependents. The university closes for the holiday next week thus limiting our access to
information from WMU, but your Steering Committee will contact other sources seeking
clarity and options for our members. Continue to contact the WARF Steering Committee
with your questions and stay tuned after the first of the year for a WARF Alert on this
topic and announcements for future "Navigating" information sessions.

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