Most of the news surrounding ObamaCare and the HealthCare.gov website has been about the website’s disastrous October launch. After a technology rescue effort, the website is reportedly working better, at least not crashing.

Problems that website users don’t see still remain, such as programming that records and transmits personal information to insurance companies as well as payment processing to insurance companies, which in many cases requires income verification by the IRS.

Beyond the website woes, the most important stories have been about pricing for the different levels of coverage — bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The least expensive plans, the bronze level, have higher deductibles and co-pays for health care services. The higher-level plans, gold and platinum, cost more per month, but have lower deductibles and co-pays; meaning smaller out-of-pocket expenses for treatment.

A story in USAToday on pricing for the health insurance plans was headlined “Sticker shock hits health exchange shoppers.” The article found that bronze-level plans cover about 60 percent of health care costs and cost an average of $445 per month.

The national averages for monthly premiums are: Bronze plans — $445; Silver plans — $539; Gold plans — $641; Platinum plans — $686. These monthly premiums are helpful when comparing costs paid by private-sector workers and public-sector workers. By any measure, public-sector employees pay far less than their private-sector counterparts for health care coverage.

At a recent budget meeting, Butler County Commissioner Jim Eckstein said he thought nonunion workers should contribute more for health care coverage. Eckstein wants the county to increase the payroll contribution from nonunion workers toward their health care coverage, currently at 1.5 percent of pay.

Eckstein’s focus on the 1.5 percent figure is something for taxpayers to consider when looking at private-sector workers’ health care costs compared to public-sector workers.

At the 1.5 percent level, a Butler County employee making $40,000 a year pays $600 a year, or $50 per month for health care coverage. A county worker making $70,000 contributes $1,050 a year, or just $87.50 per month for health care coverage.

Using a percentage of salary, the county plan is progressive, with higher-paid workers paying more. But at all pay levels, the county employees’ monthly costs are a fraction of those listed on the federal exchange website, HealthCare.gov. Butler County employees, like most government workers, pay one quarter or less of what most private-sector workers pay.

It’s the same story for most public-sector workers in the United States. Private-sector employees routinely pay at least double, sometimes four or five times as much, for their heath care compared with government workers, elected officials and public school teachers.

Eckstein argued county leaders should look at the private sector when considering county workers’ health care contributions. If he means government workers should be paying more for their health care coverage — more like private-sector workers — he’s right.

Taxpayers and voters should look at what they contribute for their health care coverage and compare that amount to what county workers, public school teachers, state employees and state lawmakers pay for their health care coverage. Whether it’s a fixed dollar amount, such as the $30 or $40 a month paid by many public school teachers, or a percentage of either salary or of health care costs, such as the 1.5 percent of salary paid by county workers, the monthly premiums paid by public-sector workers should increase — substantially.

The huge difference between public-sector workers and private-sector workers when it comes to contributing to their health care coverage, is unfair. Taxpayers should press for changes with local and state lawmakers and with school boards.