Catholic Health to stop paying health insurance for striking workers at Mercy Hospital [The Buffalo News, N.Y.]

Oct. 31—Catholic Health System on Sunday started sending notices to about 2,000 Mercy Hospital workers on strike, informing them that it was discontinuing payment and administration of their health benefit coverage as the walkout entered its second month.

"Catholic Health will resume payment and administration upon ratification of the tentative agreement by the membership," the health system announced just after 3 p.m.

The announcement comes several days after Catholic Health President and CEO Mark Sullivan said the organization was weighing whether to continue paying the striking workers' health benefits. Since the strike began Oct. 1, Sullivan said Catholic Health has spent more than $1.3 million for the workers' health benefits, something it was not legally required to do.

The health system also has been paying millions of dollars in weekly installments to a Michigan staffing firm that is providing replacement workers to keep Mercy Hospital operating at about one-third of its capacity.

The Communications Workers of America Local 1133 reminded its members that CWA's relief fund, which has $425 million in it, will cover those with chronic conditions or facing health emergencies.

"The announcement this afternoon by Catholic Health System that they are terminating health benefits for the striking members of CWA Local 1133 is a blatant attempt to intimidate the workers into ending their strike before a fair agreement is reached," CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor said in a statement. "It won't work, just like all of CHS's other threats up until now."

Sunday was an interesting day in what is now a month-long strike that has idled many services at the South Buffalo hospital.

The day started with a glimmer of progress, with the CWA informing its members that the two sides "were very close to reaching an agreement" after an all-night bargaining session that concluded at 6 a.m.

Catholic Health echoed that at midday Sunday, mentioning that the two sides met through much of the weekend and appeared close to a tentative agreement on several occasions before "talks broke down again." In fact, Catholic Health's news release around noon Sunday said the health system was temporarily holding off on sending notices to workers about how to continue coverage of health care benefits through federal COBRA legislation "as a show of good faith that this agreement will be reached."

Roughly three hours later, however, Catholic Health announced it had started sending the notices to striking workers.

The health system appeared frustrated that the CWA planned to rest up Sunday and resume bargaining Monday, rather than continue to press toward an agreement. Catholic Health said it had previously advised the CWA that if an agreement was not reached by Saturday, it would begin sending the notices to workers.

"We had hoped to have a tentative agreement today, but since there was no bargaining that was not possible," Catholic Health spokesperson JoAnn Cavanaugh said in an email Sunday.

The impasse continues what has been one of the most significant labor strikes in recent Western New York history, with the dispute coming 18 months into a pandemic that has burned out workers and put a dent in hospital finances. Those two factors have combined to create a strike that could have ramifications on the Western New York health care scene and beyond.

The two sides, in fact, have been negotiating since February. The previous contract expired last year, but the two sides agreed on a one-year extension to not disrupt patient care in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They have been negotiating a total of six labor contracts covering about 2,500 workers at Mercy Hospital, Kenmore Mercy Hospital and Sisters of Charity Hospital, St. Joseph Campus.

The major sticking point holding up a deal remains staffing.

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