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NEWS
PEIA Finance Board approves premium increases for members
CHARLESTON -- The Public Employees Insurance Agency Finance Board voted Thursday to raise premiums for its members for the first time in three years.
The board cited rising health care costs as the primary reason for the increase, which will affect retirees the most. Under the plan, which will take effect July 1, 2009, non-Medicare members will pay about 11 percent more, with non-state agencies getting a 12 percent hike.
Active employees will see their premiums increase by 9 percent.
PEIA provides health and life insurance benefits to more than 200,000 active and retired state employees and teachers and their family members.
PEIA Director Ted Cheatham and members of the Finance Board attended six public hearings around the state, facing severe opposition to the increases at time when the economy is in a recession.
At the Huntington public meeting Nov. 20, dozens of people spoke out, saying retirees can least afford any increases because they already are on fixed incomes and do not receive a cost of living adjustment.
The Finance Board did choose not to adopt the many benefit changes that had been proposed for members. Those included changes to prescription medicine and co-pays that would have driven up costs further.
Cheatham said in a press release that this plan was the best way to keep members' benefits intact.
Under the approved plan, for the average tobacco-free active employee earning $36,000 annually, the increase will be $3 per month for single coverage and $13 per month for family coverage. Tobacco-free retired members with Medicare will not see a premium increase, but their annual out-of-pocket maximum will increase from $500 to $750.
