WV TEACHERS AND STATE EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS LIKELY TO BE CUT, PREMIUMS RAISED

(06/27/2011)

State employees, teachers and others covered by the Public Employees Insurance Agency could be facing benefit cuts, with the health insurance plan looking at how to cover a big deficit next year. PEIA says in order to keep up with the costs of health care and prescription drugs, they need to increase employer premiums by 9.5 percent and employee premiums by 12.5 percent in the coming plan year. But PEIA Executive Director Ted Cheatham said last week that acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's office has advised that it plans to recommend an employer premium increase of no more than 4 percent in the 2012-13 budget bill. "Four percent from the state is a significant shortfall for both active and retiree plans," Cheatham told the PEIA Finance Board. For the current plan year, active employee medical claims are at $289.8 million, up 8 percent from 2009-10, and prescription drug costs are at $96.6 million, up 13 percent over the previous year. An option is to reduce the benefits covered by the plan.

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