CT maker cuts health insurance premiums for employees
Employees at a manufacturing company in Westbrook will no longer have to pay monthly premiums for their healthcare services, company officials said Tuesday.
The Lee Company, which manufactures miniature hydraulic components for the defense industry and other sectors, announced the improved healthcare benefits during a press conference at the company’s headquarters.
Bill Lee, the family-owned company’s president and chief executive officer, said the decision to reduce employee healthcare premiums was recognition that “families everywhere are grappling with rising healthcare costs and the ongoing economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic .”
“We are excited to be able to offer this benefit to reduce the burden on employees and their families,” said Lee.
The Lee Co.’s 1,100 employees are covered by the Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Century Preferred Plan. Coverage for spouses and family members remains the same, as do levels of coverage, deductibles, and co-payments.
According to a survey by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the median annual employee contribution for family insurance at Connecticut businesses is over $6,000. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that the average family award last year was $22,463, up 20 percent from 2017.
Chris DiPentima, president and chief executive officer of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said the move taken by Lee Co. officials on behalf of their employees was “an excellent example of a Connecticut manufacturer finding an innovative solution.”
“Connecticut is facing a workforce crisis and we must adopt any solutions that will make it easier and more affordable for people to live and work in our state,” DiPentima said.
Mark Wolf, a production manager who has worked for The Lee Co. for 28 years, said: “What needs to be taken away from that is that not only is this healthcare free, it’s not a watered down policy. “
“It’s the best that Connecticut has to offer,” Wolf said of the Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan that employees are insured under. “It’s second to none. It means the world to us.”
Karlye Degenaro, a machine operator who has worked for the company for two years, said the announcement of the elimination of monthly health insurance premiums was made during a profit-sharing meeting just before Christmas.
“When they announced it, everyone just stood up and clapped, whistled and screamed,” Degenaro said. “It was great, it was really a beautiful moment.”
Richard Broderick, the company’s vice president of human resources, said the decision to offer the expanded healthcare benefits was “a hit” because it allows the company to take good care of its existing workforce while making it easier to attract a new workforce . For the past six years, excluding the first year of the pandemic, the company has hired between 75 and 100 people a year, according to Broderick.
Marietta Lee, the company’s chief operating officer and general counsel, said the company hired 129 new employees in 2022, more than any year since the company was founded in 1948.
“We expect to hire even more this year,” she said.
In addition to its extensive corporate campus in Westbrook, the company also has a facility in Essex. Between the two locations, The Lee Co. has more than 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing space, according to company officials.
Some of the industries that the company serves are aerospace, defense and automotive.
