As unionized county workers negotiate a new contract with Butler County, the issue of employee contributions to health care coverage has received significant attention.

Several different approaches are being considered, including having employees contribute a fixed dollar amount or an amount based on a percentage of their salary.

The existing contracts, which cover about 500 workers in the county courthouse, government center and Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, do not require employee contributions to health care.

It's encouraging that the county workers' union understands that that must change.

A spokeswoman for Service Employees International Union, which represents county workers has said the goal is to find a "reasonable" number for the employees' contribution.

One way to find a reasonable figure is to look around at what other workers contribute to their health care. County workers can talk to neighbors, friends or relatives to learn what level of health care contributions are reasonable.

A recent Forbes magazine article examined data from a survey that included 30,000 private employers and 3,000 state and local governments. That survey, which looked at data from 2006, found that the average contribution for single workers was $782 a year, and the average contribution for a family plan was $2,845.

Those figures translate to $65 per month for a single worker and $237 per month for a family plan.

Adding a reasonable inflation factor, which in the world of health care is about 10 percent, the figures for 2009, would look like $1,041 per year for a single worker and $3,787 a year for family coverage.

The inflation-adjusted figures for national averages in 2009 translate to $87 per month for single coverage, and $315 a month for a family plan.

The Forbes article noted that the lowest contributions covered about 10 percent of the actual cost of the health care coverage to the employer. The highest contribution rates resulted in employees covering about 23 percent of the health care costs paid by their employer.

A Butler Eagle article surveying other county health care benefit programs in the region found that several counties charge workers 10 percent of the insurance costs to the county.That approach worked out to $44 a month for individuals and $136 a month for family coverage in Armstrong County.

A survey of the tri-state region by Cowden Associates of Pittsburgh conducted in late 2007 and early 2008 found that the average cost to provide health care coverage is $4,440 for individuals and $12,502 for families.

The Cowden survey found that employees with single coverage paid an average of $910 a year, or $76 per month. This contribution amounted to 20.5 percent of the actual cost of the coverage.

For family coverage, the average employee contributions were $3,113 a year or $259 per month. This contribution level covered about 25 percent of the actual cost of the health care insurance.

The study did note that government workers typically contributed less toward their health care coverage than workers in the private, for-profit sector. But Butler County taxpayers will be watching to see what monthly contribution amounts are considered reasonable by the two sides in county negotiations.

The impact of rapidly rising health care costs is a major issue across the U.S., and it understood that these costs are a challenge to both employers and their employees, who generally share a portion of the costs.

And while the focus now is on employee contributions, it's worth noting that the figures for co-pays and deductibles must also be considered to get the full picture.

It is long overdue for county workers to contribute to their health care coverage. And while it might not be easy for contract negotiators to agree on what a "reasonable"contribution is, it is not hard for taxpayers to see what is "reasonable"based on what they or their neighbors pay, or what national, state and regional statistics reveal.

Negotiators for the county workers must recognize that taxpayers, already stretched themselves, will be watching to see if the proposed "reasonable"contribution for health care is, indeed, reasonable.