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Taxi Driver Health Care Plan Moving Forward

After much delay, United Taxicab Workers’ efforts to achieve affordable health care for all taxi drivers should soon bear fruit. An actuarial study of expected plan costs was released in May, and a second study of funding options was scheduled to be issued by the end of July.

The studies were commissioned by the Department of Public Health, acting under provisions contained in the 2002 city ordinance that raised meter rates and maximum gates. UTW proposed the health care provisions as an amendment to the ordinance, under the sponsorship of Supervisor Tom Ammiano.

The cost study estimated that premium rates under the plan would be $322-327 a month. It projected a driver contribution to the premium of 10-20 percent, or between $33 and $66 a month. In addition, it assumed drivers would be charged a $10 or $15 co-payment for outpatient doctor visits, with additional co-pays for hospitalization, emergency room visits, drugs, etc. A previous survey by the City Controller’s Office indicated that high premiums would make health care unaffordable for most drivers.

The cost study assumed that between 3,200 and 4,000 drivers would participate in the plan. But the estimate is based on a presumed total of 7,000 drivers. That figure approximates the number of A-cards issued each year, but is far higher than the number of drivers working at any given time.

The study’s estimates for the total cost of the plan for the first year range from $12.6 million to $15.7 million. But the cost estimate is based on the inflated figure for the number of active drivers. A more accurate driver count would substantially lower the estimated cost.

Cab companies have been working on a driver health care plan of their own. Although they have mentioned the plan at the Taxi Commission and discussed it with some officeholders, they have kept it secret from cab drivers and the public.