WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: An estimated 75 Labor Leaders and Representatives of Labor Unions from across Erie and Niagara Counties recently attended Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York’s Labor Roundtable Event that was held at the Health Care Company’s Downtown Buffalo Headquarters.  (WNYLaborToday.com Photo)

(BUFFALO) – Working with Organized Labor to help keep Union Members healthy in order to lower Patient Care, which in turn lessens Hospital and Medical Costs, is one of the many initiatives Blue Cross/Blue Shield has embarked upon in recent months, Bonnie Summers – who serves as Executive Director for Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s National Labor Office in Washington – recently told a number of Western New York Labor Leaders and Representatives.

Summers, who along with Larry Singer – who serves as Senior Vice President and Benefits Consultant with New York City-based Segal Company – were the featured speakers at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York’s Labor Roundtable event that was recently held at the Health Care Company’s Union-Constructed Downtown Buffalo Headquarters. 

An estimated 75 Labor Leaders and Representatives from a variety of Western New York Unions, including the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Bricklayers Local 3, The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 41, Ironworkers Local 6, The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), The Public Employee Federation (PEF), The Teamsters and The United Auto Workers (UAW) - to name but a few - as well as leadership from the Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation (President Richard Lipsitz) and the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council (President Jim Briggs), were in attendance to take part in the educational Health Care Forum. 

In addition, leadership from OPEIU (Office and Professional Employees International Union) Local 212 – which represents around 400 Blue Cross/Blue Shield Employees in Buffalo – were also in attendance, which ironically coincided with the one-year anniversary of the high-profile lock-out of those Union Workers as a new contract was being negotiated in 2011.

“What a roller-coaster ride it’s been,” Summers said of the National Health Reform Act, which is being scrutinized by the U.S. Supreme Court and may not continue to roll out as originally planned based on an upcoming decision the Court will issue in the not too distant future.

“There are a lot of technical components to Health Care Reform and we all really need to become more aware of this.  At the end of the day, we all have to get Health Care dollars down,” continued Summers, adding 98,000 Americans die every year from “preventable medical errors” and that there’s an estimated $400 billion in annual and unnecessary Medical Spending.

“Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes, Respiratory Causes – these are the leading causes of death in the United States.  Adults and children are not getting enough exercise and we’re moving toward obesity.  As we get older, we get less active.  We have to be mindful of our health.  Ten-percent in weight loss over a lifetime reduces Medical Costs by as much as fifty-three-hundred dollars.  Healthy changes everything – that’s a great tagline,” Summers jokingly said, referring to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York’s advertising motto.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Summers added, is working and collaborating with a number of Labor Unions - including 1199 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) - on a number of healthy-oriented efforts, including several involving walking events and others with Chemical Care Organizations.

“We’re looking for ways to reduce unnecessary care and building new relationships with other Health Care Providers in Western New York, including Kaleida Health - eighty-percent of Kaleida’s Workforce is Union Represented - as well as creating quality-based programs for both Employers and their Workers,” Summers said.

Health Benefits Consultant Singer, meanwhile, admitted the new Health Care Reform Act “is very complicated.”  However, he said more than likely Health Care Exchanges where the uninsured may purchase Health Care Coverage “are likely to exist in New York State,” especially due to the fact that 16% of State Residents currently “do not have Health Care Coverage.”

After going through a myriad of penalties for those who do not procure Health Care Coverage, Singer talked about what those purchasing Health Care Coverage can anticipate when those Health Care Exchanges are finally up and running.  “But it all needs to start with education,” Singer said of navigating the new system that is in the process of being created and implemented.

Also addressing the group of Labor Leaders and Representatives was Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York’s Don Ingalls, who serves as the Company’s Vice President of State & Federal Relations. 

Ingalls detailed a year-by-year march through the new Health Care Reform Law – but noted all that could change when the U.S. Supreme Court renders a formal decision.

“We don’t know where it will go, but there should be a decision issued by the end of June and, of course, there’s this year’s Presidential Election, which we will have to wait for the outcome of.  Despite that, New York State is moving ahead (with the creation of a Health Care Exchange) and Blue Cross/Blue Shield is providing in-put for that plan in terms of the Exchange’s design and implementation,” he said.