PROVIDENCE — During their marathon House budget-cutting debate last Friday, lawmakers talked again and again about the need to “share the burden” and “share the pain.”

But they decided to spare themselves from making any contribution to their own 100-percent state-paid health insurance.

For several days last week, House leaders talked among themselves about possibly proposing an amendment to the big midyear budget-cutting bill that cleared the House on Friday. It would have required all 38 senators and 75 House members who elect to take the benefit to do what some are already doing voluntarily — that is, pay 10 percent of the cost.

But they backed off in response to reported opposition from Senate Democrats during a rare — and unannounced — closed-door caucus at the State House Thursday night.

That may not be the end of it.

With only two months left in this fiscal year, House Majority Whip Peter Kilmartin, D-Pawtucket, said the immediate savings would have been so minimal House leaders did not feel a compelling need to include the new co-sharing requirement in the bill to close a projected $168-million current-year deficit that is headed for a Senate vote this week.

But he predicted the issue will resurface in a separate bill because: “I think the House overall is behind it.”

Why? Because “we’re going to be cutting a lot of programs,” he said. “And I think as leadership, we should show we’re willing to share the burden. Everyone else is paying co-pays for health care.”

The cost of providing this free benefit to the state’s $13,508-a-year part-time legislators — most of whom have other jobs — is not small.

The full array of medical, dental and vision benefits that currently costs the state $5,810 for an individual and $16,233 for a family is increasing on July 1 to $6,305 for individuals and $17,620 for families.

Full-time state workers are required to contribute toward the cost of their health-insurance premiums in amounts that range from 8 percent to 15 percent, depending in how much they make. Others pay a percentage of their salaries. And the budget-cutting bill headed for the Senate raises the amount state retirees will have to contribute toward their post-retirement health coverage if they wait until after Sept. 30 to leave.

As it stands, almost two dozen of the state’s legislators — the vast majority of them Republican — are voluntarily paying a portion of their health-insurance premiums.

Those paying 10 percent of the cost in the Senate include Dennis Algiere, David Bates, Marc Cote, Kevin Breene, John Tassoni and June Gibbs; and in the House, Representatives Steven Coaty, Laurence Ehrhardt, Nicholas Gorham, Bruce Long, John Loughlin, William McManus, Helio Melo, Victor Moffitt, Carol Mumford, J. Patrick O’Neill, Amy Rice, Susan Story, Joseph Trillo, Robert Watson and Thomas Winfield. Rep. Donna Walsh opted to pay 6 percent.

But the majority pay nothing.

And 23 lawmakers who do not want or need the coverage each get an $2,002 annual waiver payment for giving it up.

Those receiving the waiver payment include: Senators Walter Felag, Paul Fogarty, Paul Jabour, Christopher Maselli, Harold Metts and James Sheehan; and Representatives Joseph Almeida, Joseph Amaral, Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, Raymond Church, Deborah Fellela, Frank Ferri, Douglas Gablinske, Robert Jacquard, Peter Kilmartin, Charlene Lima, Rene Menard, John Savage, Patricia, Serpa, John Patrick Shanley, Steven Smith, Stephen Ucci and Kenneth Vaudreuil. (Savage, Smith and Fogarty decided to voluntarily forgo 10 percent of the waiver payments).

The overall taxpayer cost this year: $1,344,861. The annualized savings would be a projected $142,739 if every legislator taking the benefit contributed 10 percent of the projected $1,427,390 cost next year.

Few arms of state government emerged unscathed Friday. The lawmakers did their part by relinquishing $2.8 million, most of it from an uncommitted surplus the General Assembly has been automatically rolling from one budget year into the next.

Had they not given it up, spokesman Larry Berman said some of that money would have gone into hiring staff, but most of it would have been used for the award of end-of-session legislative grants that have not yet been promised to specific organizations.

With $35.6 million remaining in its budget for this waning year, the General Assembly is still positioned to spend almost 16 percent more in the current fiscal year than it did in 2006.

Late last week, Senate President Joseph Montalbano denied that Senate Democrats went behind closed doors to discuss any aspect of the budget. Asked about the reported discussion about lawmakers’ contributing to their health insurance, he issued this statement:

“Pursuant to 42-46-2 Subsection C of the Rhode Island General Laws, the Senate Democrats met in caucus yesterday to discuss a political matter. No vote was taken on any matter at this meeting.”

Editor's note: In an earlier version of this story, the name of Rep. Robert Watson was not on the list of those paying 10 percent of the cost of health-care premiums.

—With reports from Steve Peoples

kgregg@projo.com