Tinley Park proceeds to remove library employees from village health insurance plan

Tinley Park will move forward with an employee health insurance renewal plan that does not include Tinley Park Public Library employees, after the library’s board rejected an expensive ultimatum.

Although the library’s employees and their family members represent a small proportion of the total number of people covered by the village’s healthcare plan, their inclusion caused premiums to increase for everyone, in part because the library employees had a much higher “loss ratio,” the ratio of claims relative to their premiums, according to the village.

Earlier this month, the village offered to keep library employees on the village healthcare plan, but only if the library paid for the full $290,322 difference in premiums.

The library board said in a statement the additional cost, future uncertainty and limited time to evaluate the proposal led to its decision not to remain with the village’s healthcare.

The Tinley Park Village Board voted unanimously Tuesday to renew  medical benefits without the library employees.

Former part-time library employee Dana Lacoco objected to the change, telling the Village Board library employees were being penalized for using their health insurance when they got sick.

“The loss ratios and graphs that we all looked at represented real people,” Lacoco said. “People who, through no fault of their own, got sick and needed medical care, and used the insurance that they paid for.”

Lacoco said she was caught off guard when the village asked the library to pay the difference in premiums in order to remain on the village’s plan.

“It really sounded to me and many other people that this issue had been resolved, and that the village would approve extending health coverage to the library for 2027,” Lacoco said. “Obviously that didn’t happen.”

Resident Nicole Suarez said the quality of Tinley Park’s library was one of the things that had led her to make the village her home.

“I am deeply concerned,” Suarez said. “To me, as a taxpayer, singling out a dedicated section of local public servants for healthcare exclusion or inflated costs seems unprecedented and discriminatory.”

Trustee Kenneth Shaw defended the village’s decision, saying library employees were not singled out.

“The work that the library does and the services it provides, nowhere in any of this was that something that anybody on this board put down, denigrated in any way, shape or form,” Shaw said.

Mayor Michael Glotz argued the library had plenty of money in reserves to pay for the full cost of the increased premiums if the library board so chose.

“They don’t want to pay the costs. It should not be on our budget,” Glotz said. “Their fund balance is like $20 million that they have in the bank. So they have more than enough money to pay, instead of the village employees paying their share of insurance.”

Suarez said the library’s reserves should be used to improve the library and provide services, rather than reimbursing the village.

“Our library’s reserves are entirely taxpayer funded and they belong to the community,” Suarez said. “These assets are carefully managed to fund future library improvements, expand programming, purchase materials and provide first-class services.”

Shaw argued it was only fair to expect the library to pay more for healthcare, since the inclusion of library employees was causing premiums to increase.

“The cost of those services was presented to the library. They made a choice not to accept,” Shaw said. “We extended the offer, we wanted them on the plan, but we wanted the expense to be paid for where the expense is generated.”

The library board said in its statement that library administration was actively working to secure independent health insurance coverage for its employees.

elewis@chicagotribune.com

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