Anyway, now the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (our only metropolitan daily and it leans right) came out with an article about the HCTrends "study" and a reply from WEAC (our teacher's union).
Bryan ------------------
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/120830359.html
" Its report says school districts in the region would save some $221 million a year if their teacher health plans mirrored the average private-sector plan.
But teachers' health insurance must be considered alongside salaries that are relatively low considering their levels of education, said Christina Brey, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teachers union.
"When total compensation is examined, the salaries and the benefits are combined, it shows that teachers are underpaid compared with private sector counterparts - that is, people who (are) college educated or have graduate degrees in the private sector," Brey said.
HCTrends maintains a website and publishes a newsletter on health care issues. It is financed primarily by The Benefit Services Group Inc., a Pewaukee-based insurance brokerage that helps large employers put together benefit packages.
[...]
The private employers surveyed paid an average of $5,125 for single coverage and $15,500 for a family plan. Private companies with unions paid more - $5,625 for single coverage, $16,000 for family - but still significantly less than the school districts.
Brian H. Jensen, an independent health care consultant, said it's problematic to stack the private-sector costs against those of the school districts.
"You're comparing a grape and a grapefruit," he said.
One difference, according to WEAC's Brey, is that 75% of teachers are women, and health care costs are higher for women than for men.
The numbers alone, Jensen said, don't say anything about the design of the health plans, the pool of people being insured and their health risks, or the overall compensation packages.
"Public sector employees will tell you over and over and over again that they bargain for rich benefits because they didn't bargain for rich salaries," Jensen said. ------------------
-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of Bryan Atinsky Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 11:19 To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: [lbo-talk] Right-wing thinktank HCTrends puts out study on benefits and pay of Wisconsin public employees
This is the new information that the Wisconsin right-wing is spreading around to counter the Economic Policy Institute's earlier study that public sector employees are underpaid in comparison to similarly educated private sector employees: