The firefighters union in San Antonio revealed more details about its proposal for an independent health care trust on Tuesday, requesting a $19,000-per-employee payment from the city every year for the next five years to fund the trust.
The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association is asking for an independent health care trust that it can manage itself, removing it from the city’s purview. They said the flat payment would pay for most of the proposal in what’s called “health care avoidance.”
Because the fee is below city projections for rising costs in the next five years, the union argued it would save San Antonio $114.5 million toward the estimated $156.4 million bill for the proposal, which would add to what the city already pays.
But the plan is likely a non-starter for the city, which derided it as “unrealistic and costly.” City negotiators have said current health care costs are unsustainable and they want to bring down the cost per firefighter, not raise it or keep it stable.