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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Health care deal boosts West Coast port talks

Progress seen with West Coast contract

The Columbian
Published:
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Container ships wait to be off-loaded at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., in October.
Container ships wait to be off-loaded at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., in October. Photo Gallery

LOS ANGELES — Negotiators hoping to forge a new contract for dockworkers and keep hundreds of billions of dollars in cargo moving smoothly through West Coast seaports made significant progress with a tentative deal on health care benefits, a knotty issue that tied up talks for months.

West Coast dockworkers already have unusually generous health benefits — so generous, argue their employers who pay for the coverage, that the insurance plan has become riddled with fraud.

Doctors and clinics have bilked the health plan of tens of millions of dollars, according to the Pacific Maritime Association, which first made the claim a year ago based on a review of thousands of invoices submitted by medical providers.

During contract talks, the association focused on limiting fraud as a way to reduce an impending tax on high-end health plans. Under the Affordable Care Act, if current costs hold, dockworkers’ employers would be on the hook for about $32 million in new taxes each year starting in 2018. The tax hit would be higher if medical costs rise, as they typically do.

Employers paid $461 million to cover 13,800 dockworkers and their families in 2013, or about $33,400 per plan, according to an analysis of publicly available data.

Dockworkers have complained that the focus on eliminating fraud has blocked the payment of legitimate claims, and as a result they have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket while waiting for reimbursements.

Leaders of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have said the maritime association exaggerated the rate of fraud to gain leverage in negotiations, possibly to trim benefits.

The tentative agreement on health care was announced Tuesday evening but no details were disclosed. To reach a deal, union leaders would have to be satisfied that benefits would be maintained while employers would need to conclude that costs could be contained.

An overall contract agreement depends on the resolution of other issues involving pay, job security and workplace safety.

The contract covers workers at 29 ports from San Diego to Seattle that are a key trade link with Asia. The West Coast waterfront has a history of strikes and lockouts, though during negotiations this year both sides have said they want to avoid further unrest.

Still, worries about possible work slowdowns prompted some importers to divert shipments to East Coast ports. That trend apparently will continue until the union and maritime association reach a final deal.

“Companies will continue to utilize contingency planning until a new contract is achieved to ensure they are able to get their products to market,” said Jonathan Gold, a supply chain specialist with the National Retail Federation.

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