The College plans to reconsider a proposal to charge health insurance premiums proportionally to employees’ incomes. The proposal, first brought forward by the Williams Staff Committee (WSC) in April, was previously rejected by senior staff. President Maud S. Mandel said that the College will once again consider the proposal after dozens of students, staff, and faculty appeared at her office during public office hours last week to voice concerns about staff benefits.
Currently, since all College employees pay the same premiums, lower-paid employees’ health insurance costs make up a higher proportion of their salaries.
The proposal, which would instead charge premiums proportionate to employee income, notes that seven of the College’s 10 NESCAC peers currently use a similar system.
In a Nov. 8 email to the Record, Mandel wrote that various campus bodies are now planning to consider the proposal. “We’ve forwarded the WSC proposal to the Benefits Committee for consideration,” she wrote. “I believe the Committee on Priorities and Resources and the Faculty Compensation Committee are also planning conversations with the Staff Committee.”
Mandel added that no decision has been made about implementing the proposal. “To be clear, this is a decision about process: the various committees now need to deliberate on the pros and cons and advise us on what they think makes sense for the college,” she wrote.
In her email, Mandel expressed that she is glad protestors came to her office. “It can be daunting to come talk to the college president, especially when you’re expressing strong concern or disagreement,” she wrote. “I appreciate the seriousness of people’s purpose and commitment and try to respect it by listening closely and being open to their points of view.”
Mandel explained that community feedback swayed the College’s decision-making. “The healthcare landscape is ever-changing, and the WSC is telling us that staff are experiencing further challenges,” she wrote. “They convinced me that their proposal deserves another look.”
WSC is pleased that the College is reconsidering their proposal, according to Co-Chair Zeffa Kinney. “[The] staff committee, who worked hard on this proposal, will be glad to hear it is being looked at again,” she wrote in an email to the Record. “We believe it could help reduce some challenges staff are facing with rising health costs.”
The current model, under which all employees pay the same premiums, was last altered in 2023, according to Mandel. “The Benefits Committee had helped us establish a ‘defined contribution’ approach to healthcare benefits,” she wrote. “This was designed to give employees the flexibility to choose the plan that suited their individual needs.”
Last month, a group of campus employees known as the Staff Faculty Initiative, or SFIOC, hung posters across campus protesting the insurance premiums model and recent changes to employee benefits.
According to one of the posters, the lowest-paid employees at the College contribute 5.91 percent of their salary toward health insurance premiums if filing individually and 17.15 percent if covering a family, while the highest-paid employees contribute 0.34 percent and 0.99 percent, respectively. “Why should those who make less pay more?” the poster reads.
In her email, Mandel said that community input is an important part of decision-making at the College. “This is a good illustration of what can happen if you stay open to new perspectives: Sometimes, people offer new information or points of view that cause you to reflect differently on a prior decision,” she wrote.
“In such cases, it may make sense to say, ‘You know what? You’re right. Let’s go back and think about it again,’” she continued.
