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Healthcare costs and our increasing contributions to healthcare are exacerbated by the state budget that removed $100 million from the State Benefits Healthcare Program (SHBP). While we work on legislation to address rising costs, we must let the governor know that his decision negatively impacts all of us. A bill to give unions a majority of decision-making seats on the boards which approve SHBP offers has passed out of the Assembly State and Local Government committee. The bill is now waiting for the Assembly Appropriations Committee to weigh in. As it progresses, eventually it will need Gov. Murphy’s support.
We are asking URA members to write to Gov. Murphy so he signs it into law when it gets to his desk. We need a sustainable correction to increasing healthcare costs that include quality and affordability for the long term.
AFT New Jersey has set up an email petition that we can send to our state legislators (Governor, State Senator and two Assembly Representatives) to tell them “The FY26 budget’s aim to cut $100 million from the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), circumventing our contracts and our union rights, will result in public workers paying more in health care costs. We ask that you support A5903, which allows for cost savings to be achieved through collective bargaining. This bill controls costs and addresses affordability, all while maintaining oversight and transparency in the process — and those attributes benefit all of us.”
