Albany

Workers at Whitney Young Health picketed Monday evening over what their union is characterizing as a sad irony: their employer, whose mission is providing medical care regardless of patients' ability to pay, wants to move them into health insurance policies that would make it prohibitive for them to see a doctor or get a prescription.

"If the workers there can't afford their own health care, I believe there's a tension between what's actually happening and what their mission is," said Mindy Berman, a spokeswoman for 1199SEIU, the union representing about 50 workers — licensed practical nurses, maintenance workers, phlebotomists and others — at Whitney Young Health clinics in Albany, Troy and Watervliet.

A spokeswoman for the health center, however, said Whitney Young Health has offered employees several options, and will pay 80 percent to 95 percent of the costs of coverage, depending on the plan.

"As a nonprofit with limited margins, we must balance the needs of the under served populations that we serve regardless of their ability to pay with making sure our workforce receives a competitive compensation package," the health center said in a statement. "Our approach to negotiations has been about striking that balance in the best interest of our patients."

The issue has been at the heart of months-long negotiations between Whitney Young and 1199SEIU, according to Berman. The workers' contract expired in June and was extended until Dec. 2. They have been working without a contract since Friday, Berman said.

Richard Byas, a 59-year-old medical assistant who has worked at Whitney Young's Albany clinic for 15 years, said the new health care options are too costly for him. A diabetic, Byas spends about $2,000 a month on his care, mostly on medications. Though Whitney Young Health would pay most of the costs under a new high-deductible plan — $1,200 out of a $1,500 deductible — Byas would have to fork out $300 of his own money first. That's money he doesn't have at a $16-an-hour wage, he said.

He wants the company to offer one of 1199's health plans, which would require him to pay only $5 for each prescription medicine.

In addition to offering a new high-deductible health insurance plan, Whitney Young Health has also offered employees a more traditional plan with no deductible, but a larger upfront contribution cost, a spokeswoman said.

chughes@timesunion.com • 518-454-5417 • @hughesclaire