Management changed our health insurance illegally at the end of last year. Here’s how the change has affected our members.

Insider Union members picketed outside of One Liberty Plaza after going on a ULP strike on Friday. Irene Kim

• Insider management illegally changed employee insurance last year, causing many members’ healthcare costs to go up.

• As a result, the NewsGuild filed a complaint against Insider with a federal labor relations board. 

• The board investigated and found merit in the claim, but management is refusing to settle with us. Here’s how six members say the increase in costs has affected them. 

Hundreds of Insider Union members went on strike on midnight June 2 over management’s refusal to settle a charge before a federal labor relations board that the company illegally changed employees’ healthcare provider last year, resulting in higher costs for some members. 

Also at issue in the open-ended strike are wage floors, guaranteed raises, management’s ability to impose additional healthcare cost increases, and the role of AI in the newsroom.

Last November, the Insider Union lodged what’s known as an unfair labor practice charge (ULP) against Insider after management unilaterally switched employees’ health insurance provider from UnitedHealthcare to Cigna. By law, the company is required to bargain with the union over such a change. 

The switch caused many employees to see increased medical costs on everything from higher copays, to steeper prices on medication, and increased prices for their insurance itself, employees have said during bargaining sessions with management.

This May, the National Labor Relations Board, which investigates unfair labor practices charges, “found merit with the union’s ULP and is issuing a complaint against the company,” according to a press release announcing the Insider Union’s ULP strike. Union leadership called the strike after management failed to meet a deadline to come to a fair contract agreement that resolved the ULP, offered fair wages, and lowered health insurance costs. 

Below, read how the increased insurance costs have affected some of our members. 

Therapy costs have doubled — or tripled — and members are on the hook

“When I switched from one Cigna plan to another, I didn’t realize that Insider’s plan would decide — without consulting my therapist — that how much a provider charges should be a lot less. That means they cover less in an allowed amount, and since my therapist deserves to be paid for their labor, I’m left on the hook for the remaining balance. That’s meant a nearly doubled cost every therapy session, and that’s after I hit my $1,000 deductible!”

“Cigna is obligated to reimburse my out-of-network provider 80% of the bill for my regular therapy sessions. But Cigna has contracted a third-party vendor, Data iSight, to manufacture a ‘discount’ that my provider did not agree to. As a result, Cigna is insisting on reimbursing my provider only 35% of their full rate, leaving me on the hook for the rest of the bill. I can’t afford to triple the cost of my therapy sessions. I’ve been paying the same rate for years. In the past month, I’ve spent several hours trying to get this resolved, not to mention the hours spent worrying about what happens if I do get stuck with a bill I can’t afford to pay.”

“The cost of therapy increased 40% per session for me after the switch to Cigna. I ultimately decided to cut back on the frequency of my appointments to avoid a nearly $500 jump in annual costs.”

The price of medication has increased

“My medication has increased by about $50 a month, my copays have increased by another $50 a month, and my insurance itself has increased by $7 a paycheck. While ~$115 a month may not sound like that much to management, it adds up — and it’s costs like this that especially make a difference to colleagues of mine who are at the lower end of the existing salary bands, which are frankly shocking in range.”

“I felt the effects of Insider’s unlawful healthcare switch early in January when the price increased for every single one of the five medications I'm currently taking — one by as much as 1,570%! As someone who has been lucky enough to pay around $100 per year for my medications, I’m now projecting that my existing refills will cost me nearly $700 this year. This is money that I have not budgeted for, and this only includes existing medication; I’m now bracing myself for higher costs when it comes to doctor’s visits, lab work, specialists, and any other routine healthcare I receive this year. Management has pointed out that this is just the nature of the US healthcare system. While I agree that insurance in this country is deeply flawed, management had an obligation to work with the union before pushing these changes on us, and they failed to fulfill that obligation — which is why I’m adamant that the company addresses our increased health care costs as part of a fair contract.”

“I have asthma and I go through multiple albuterol HFA inhalers a year. Cigna said they will only cover this medication up to a certain amount over a length of time. This means my second or third inhaler may no longer be covered and that’s made me delay getting my next inhaler — and my current one is running out.”

If you’d like to share these stories on Twitter, here’s a thread from the Insider Union.

Business Outsider is a strike publication of Insider Union which is a unit of The NewsGuild of New York.

Follow our Twitter for updates on the strike, and if you enjoyed this content and would like to throw in some cash for our members who are losing wages every day that we strike for a fair contract, feel free to visit our hardship fundraiser here. Wanna help us tell the boss to reach a deal? Let Nich Carlson and Henry Blodget know you support us by sending a letter.