Butler County and union negotiators are in contract talks, trying to agree on a "reasonable" number for employees to pay for a portion of their health care coverage.

The contracts, which expire Nov. 30, cover about 500 courthouse, government center and Sunnyview workers. More than 800 people are employed by the county.

County employees currently do not contribute to their health insurance costs.

In negotiating new agreements, county officials say they have to balance what employees think is reasonable against what taxpayers deem fair.

"When it comes down to it, we as the county (will do) what's best for the county and the taxpayer," said Commissioner Dale Pinkerton, board chairman.

The next negotiating sessions are Tuesday and Thursday.

To see what other workers contribute for their health care costs, the Butler Eagle compared other counties in the region, along with the private sector and school districts across the state.

Armstrong County

Armstrong County workers pay 10 percent of their monthly premium. That is $22 twice a month for individuals and $68 for families.

Beaver County

Beaver County employees pay 1 percent of their base wages, but overtime is not included.

Rob Cyphert, Beaver's financial administrator, said the county switched to a salary-based contribution in 2001 because of rising health care costs.

The county is self-insured, only using insurance companies to administer claims.

"There are certain advantages," he said about the system used by the 1,200 union workers.

For budgeting, the county factors in an $875 monthly cost to insure each employee. Every county department includes that cost in its expenses.

Cyphert said there have been no problems with that process.

"We've been doing fine," he said.

Beaver has 11 unions representing the workers. Cyphert expects the 1 percent contribution to increase under negotiations for new contracts for 2009.

"The county is attempting to increase the contribution," he said.

Clarion County

Clarion County's full-time employees pay 10 percent of the insurance premium. Part-timers pay 55 percent.

Full-time workers waiving county coverage receive a $1,200 annual reimbursement.

Washington County

Washington County employees pay $19 monthly for individual coverage and $36 monthly for family coverage.

Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County's roughly 1,000 employees are represented by 10 unions, and the type of health care contribution varies depending on the contract.

Some workers pay a flat rate, having $9 deducted from biweekly pay checks for individual coverage and $25 for family coverage.

Other workers pay a percentage of the insurance premium, ranging from 10 percent to 15 percent.

Employees belonging to one union pay 2 percent of their pay.

Chuck Dominick, director of the county's human resources, said unions tend to prefer the salary-based contribution.

He expects health care contributions to increase in later contracts as insurance costs continue to rise.

"It will be an issue," Dominick said about future contract negotiations.

He pointed out workers in the private sector pay significantly more of their health care costs.

Private sector

A survey of 274 employers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia done by Cowden Associates of Pittsburgh in late 2007 and early 2008 indicates employers' health care costs rose 5.7 percent over the year.

In addition to 140 for-profit companies, more than 90 nonprofit and nearly 40 government entities were polled for the study.

Employers' annual average cost to provide health care coverage is $4,440 for individuals and $12,502 for each family, according to the study.

More than 82 percent of employees with individual coverage and more than 88 percent with family coverage share in the cost to pay health care premiums.

The study showed employees contribute an average of 20.5 percent of the cost for individual coverage, $910 annually or $76 monthly, while employers paid $3,530 annually or $294 monthly.

Employees with family coverage contributed 24.9 percent, $3,113 annually or $259 monthly, while employers paid the remaining 75.1 percent, $9,389 annually or $782 monthly.

The study indicated government employees contributed less toward the total premium than do employees at for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations.

Government employees contributed 9.8 percent of individual coverage, or an average of $39 monthly, and 10.4 percent for family coverage, or an average of $115 monthly.

Vince Wolf, Cowden's executive vice president, said it is becoming more common for union contracts to include a tiered system of contributions.

"There is a definite trend to that in one manner," he said.

While union contracts aren't favoring contributions based on individual salaries, Wolf said ones in this region do include salary bands that set varying contribution amounts based on salary ranges.

Just as with percentages, the higher salary range requires a higher contribution.

This salary band contribution system is not new.

Wolf cited Westinghouse as a major employer that set the salary banded contributions in the 1980s.

He said setting contribution levels appeals to those who believe "Those who can afford more should pay more."

Most of the study's respondents, 135, were from southwest Pennsylvania.

Of the 274 employers, more than 260 had fewer than 5,000 workers. The survey polled 45 employers with between 500 and 999 employees and 62 employers with 250 to 499 employees.

According to the study, employees of organizations with fewer than 500 workers are more likely to contribute more than larger ones.

School districts

The number of employee health care contributions also is rising in school districts across the state.

According to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, 32 percent of all union contracts on file, or 140 out of 437, included employee co-pays during the 2002-03 school year.

For 2007-08, that number rose to 290 out of 450 contracts, or 64 percent. With agreements signed so far this year, the number is 235 out of 345 contracts, or 68 percent.

More than 100 contracts are being negotiated.

Dave Davare, director of research services for the PSBA, said as long as health care costs rise, the increase in employee contributions will rise.

"Obviously, the teachers unions are not happy with that trend," he said.

While the unions' goals are to protect their members, Davare said school boards are pressured by taxpayers' reaction to the increasing worker contributions in the private sector.

"People are paying more and more for their health insurance," he said.

School district workers, including teachers, paying a flat rate contribute an average of $727 annually, or more than $60 monthly.

Those paying a percentage of the insurance premium range from 7 percent to 9 percent of the total cost.