i think ALL the parties (including the insurance compay) have made bad choices, not just one.
but sadly people are just blaming one (and it's based in thier political belief's).
While it is likely that both the union and management share some responsibility for this issue...I guarantee that the insurer is NOT the culprit.
Health insurance costs are rising at a pretty alarming rate. The health insurance business is pretty much a "cost-plus" business, and profit margins are quite low for insurance companies, (national average LESS than 5%). The ONLY four reasons an insurer would cancel a client;
---Non-payment of premium
---Overall discontinuence of a particular product, or product line
---Inadequate participation (they must get the good with the bad)
---Poor claim experience (sometimes a carrier just can't charge enough to offset a sour claim situation)
It is simply a business decision, there is very little that an insurer will do if the situation is not right for them.
And in my experience, there's always another carrier that's willing to write the business as long as the participation issue is addressed.
But union vs. management negotiations on this topic can be uterly unrealistic at times...I've sat at these discussions enough to say it is a screwed up process.
