Are Ross Twp taxpayers footing the Health Insurance bill for Commissioner Mikec's 3 "grown children"?

Well, I had to dust off the old blog for this one.  There was just too much information to cover and it would not all fit on the Facebook page!


I received an email the other day (after my lengthy post on Facebook about spreading the word) that questioned whether or not Commissioner Mikec still had his adult children covered by his Ross Township (taxpayer funded) Health Insurance.


So I set out today to do some digging and see what I could find.  While I don't have a definitive answer, you can draw your own conclusions with the information I have collected.


Let us first look at the costs associated with the Commissioner's Health Insurance.  Let's look at the 2011 figures as I am still waiting for the 2012 figures to arrive from a Right To Know request.


2011 Health Care Costs

Commissioners                 Monthly Total                   Yearly Total

Demarco, Daniel               $627.71                              $7,532.52

Eyster, Chris                       $1,488.43                           $17,861.16

(2)Ferraro, Peter               $12.90                                $154.80

(1)Kinross, Daniel              $1,656.97                           $19,883.64

(1)Mazur, Lana                   $1,488.43                          $17,861.16

Mikec, David                      $1,891.14                           $22,693.68

Montgomery, Grant         $1,891.14                           $22,693.68

(1)O’Brien, Gerald            $627.71                              $7,532.52

Stanko, Grace                    $1,656.97                           $19,883.64

Trustee's Fee                     $3.00                                   $36.00

Total                                    $11,344.40                         $136,132.80

(1)Repays 5% of their Health Care to Township

(2)Has his own Health Coverage

Commissioner Kinross 5% total per year portion is $917.23

Commissioner O’Brien 5% total per year potion is $343.04

Commissioner Mazur 5% total per year portion is $816.11

Notice that Commissioner Mikec's monthly cost (and that is what it costs the taxpayers, not what is costs him!) is one of the highest amounts on the list.  Commissioner Montgomery was also costing taxpayers $1819.14 a month for his families health insurance, but he has children legitimately under the age of 18.

Commissioner DeMarco's monthly cost for single coverage was $627.71 a month in 2011.  You can see how the various other Commissioners stack up with costs.

So why would Commissioner Mikec be one of the most expensive Health Insurance costs.  He has 3 grown children so why would he continue the more expensive family coverage? Oh and how do I know he has 3 GROWN children, well his wife says so in THIS article from the North Hills Patch.

"......said Mikec, whose three grown children attended St. Athanasius through grade eight."

So what's the big deal you wonder...especially since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010 allows health insurance providers to cover adult children up to the age of 27.  Well the big deal is that WE ARE PAYING FOR IT!

While I can understand providing coverage for an adult child that does not have another option, the person that emailed me said that Mikec's 3 grown children have jobs that would have a health insurance option.  Problem is, they would probably be expected to CONTRIBUTE to their health insurance and that would take money out of THEIR pockets.  If they stay on Commissioner Mikec's health insurance policy, it doesn't cost them a cent....but IT COSTS US! Also note, for 2011 Commissioner Mikec contributed NOTHING to his Health Insurance.  He let us, the taxpayers, pay for it all for himself, his wife, and his grown children!  

An Ordinance was passed in April 2012 requiring a mandatory 5% contribution from Commissioners. While it went into play for Commissioners that just started new terms in 2012, it will not affect Commissioner Mikec until 2014. Even when Commissioner Mikec is required to contribute 5%, it pales in comparison to what his children would more than likely have to contribute in their private sector jobs.

So now that I have gathered all the info into this blog post, you can draw your own conclusions. 


In my eyes, that is one heck of a perk for a part-time public service job!