Infignos Media - State employees will pay more health insurance in 2014

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State employees will pay more health insurance in 2014

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

State employees will pay more for health insurance under changes approved today by the State Employees’ Insurance Board to help address a projected $36 million deficit.

The board raised some premiums, increased co-pays for urgent care, emergency room visits, outpatient surgeries and made other changes. The board also allocated roughly $11.1 million from reserves to help pay the deficit. The changes will take effect Jan. 1.

Some board members expressed concern that the increases were coming at a time when state employees have gone years without a pay increase, but also said they had felt they had no other choice considering their financial situation.

“After careful consideration, the board made some tough decisions,” Board Chairman Joe Dickson said in a statement.

“However, I am confident that we stayed true to our goal of providing the best health care coverage possible at an affordable rate for our members.”

SEIB Chief Executive Officer William Ashmore has said the deficit was caused by a combination of rising costs, fewer state employees to pay into the program and fees and benefits mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

Active state employees pay $15 a month for single coverage and $205 for family coverage, including discounts for not using tobacco and participating in a wellness program.

The changes approved by the board include that:

- Smokers will end up paying an additional $5 per month. Premiums are being raised across-the-board by $5, but the monthly non-smoking discount is being from $45 to $50.

-- Members will begin to pay for dental coverage. The fee would be $3 a month for single coverage and $8 a month for family coverage. There is no separate premium for dental coverage under the current plan.

-- Members will pay an additional $50 a month to cover spouses who have access to their own employer insurance plans.

-- Surviving spouses will pay $15 more per month for single coverage and $20 more for family coverage.

-- The copay for urgent care will increase from $35 to $100.

-- The emergency room and outpatient surgery copay will increase to $150.

-- The monthly premiums for non-Medicare retirees will increase to $10 a month for single coverage and $20 a month for family coverage.

-- The copay for lab work will drop from $10 to $7.50.

Acting Finance Director Bill Newton said the board had three options to address the shortfall -- increasing premiums, cutting benefits or tapping reserves. He said today's action involved all three.

The plan was approved after a month of debate.

The head of a group representing retired state, county, and municipal employees criticized the change and said the board should have taken more from reserves.

“We begged for a life preserver and the SEIB threw us an anchor,” said Liane Kelly, executive director of ARSEA/APEAL.

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Keywords: State employees ,health insurance ,State Employees’ Insurance Board ,premiums,

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