Several faculty members are accusing the university's head of Human Resources of misleading staff about a series of changes in employee health care contributions.
Luis Lewin, Ohio University's chief human resource officer, wrote to staff and faculty in an e-mail last Thursday that health care premiums for administrators
faculty and non-bargaining unit classified staff will decrease 9 percent for the fiscal year beginning July 1 2009 because of overall savings achieved in the university's health benefits budget. He wrote later in the e-mail about changes to deductibles and co-pays.
It's the latter phrase that has some faculty calling Lewin disingenuous.
OU President Roderick McDavis announced several changes to employee health plans a few weeks ago, including increased co-pays, deductibles and office visit fees. In an e-mail conversation with Lewin, journalism professor Bernhard Debatin accused Lewin of putting a positive spin on what amounts to increased health-care costs.
The framing of your e-mail ('I am pleased to share with you the news') clearly indicates an overall positive message with the implication that everybody will benefit from these changes
Debatin wrote. The truth is that a substantial number of people will actually have significantly higher health care costs.
Debatin had outlined an example of how a family's health-care expenses could increase hundreds of dollars in an earlier e-mail. Lewin responded but did not address the specific example, offering instead to meet with Debatin to continue their discussion.
Lewin was not available to comment on the exchange.
The question of whether Lewin's e-mail amounted to a lie of omission
as Debatin characterized it, also surfaced at a Faculty Senate meeting earlier this week.
Senate Chairman Sergio López-Permouth said Lewin's e-mail did not include the whole picture.
I find it discouraging that the administration felt compelled to release such a statement
López said. I cannot imagine any other purpose in the message than to mislead our employees into thinking that we have good news while the reality is that our salaries are frozen while our overall contributions to health care through deductibles and co-pays are in fact growing.
López and Debatin both expressed concern that the increases amount to a regressive tax, hitting hardest those employees making the least.
Faculty senators discussed working with administrative and classified senates to get an e-mail out to all employees clarifying Lewin's announcement. A full list of changes to the health-care plan is available on the Human Resources department's Web site.
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Emily Grannis
