CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the Public Employees Insurance Agency Finance Board are not expecting a warm reception at six public meetings on proposed changes to the state’s health insurance plan for state workers. The meetings begin Monday evening at Tamarack in Beckley.
The board is recommending benefit cuts totaling nearly $40 million.
“The fact is that none of the options are very attractive,” board chairman and acting state Secretary of Administration Jason Pizatella said recently. “The board is charged with maintaining that statutory balance and so we are going to do the best we can.”
There have been no premium increases in PEIA for three years. The finance board has used the agency’s reserve fund, about $32 million a year, to pay for increasing health care costs. State law prohibits the reserve fund from going below the 15 percent mark or $105 million. Without benefit cuts, that level would be exceeded.
“We have been spending down the rather sizeable reserve on the active (employee) side and operating at a loss for the last few years of PEIA because there’s no additional revenue to cover the additional expenses in health care that occur every year,” PEIA Director Ted Cheatham said.
The finance board plans to give state workers attending the public hearings an opportunity to choose the changes they favor. The proposals include increasing deductibles, increasing primary doctor visit co-pays, specialist co-pays along with outpatient and urgent care co-pays. Increasing out-of-pocket maximums for family coverage is also an option.
“We will lay out all of the options for how to essentially balance for the FY 15-16 plan year,” Pizatella said. “To do that we are going to seek input from those attending the public hearings to tell us what options they like and what options they don’t like.”
The finance board will approve the changes in December to take effect July 1, 2015.
PEIA released the following public hearing schedule:
Registration for the 6 p.m. hearings below starts at 5 p.m. You must register to speak. If you can’t attend a hearing, you may provide input by completing the Plan Year 2016 Survey.
Monday, Nov. 10, 2014 – Beckley
Tamarack – Ballroom A
One Tamarack Park, Beckley, WV
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014 – Huntington
Marshall Medical School – Harless Auditorium
1600 Medical Center Drive, Huntington, WV
Monday, Nov. 17, 2014 – Martinsburg
Holiday Inn – Foxcroft Ballroom
301 Foxcroft Avenue, Martinsburg, WV
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 – Morgantown
Ramada Inn – Grand Ballroom
20 Scott Avenue, Morgantown, WV
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 – Wheeling
WV Northern Community College – Auditorium
1704 Market Street, Wheeling, WV
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 – Charleston
Charleston Civic Center – Little Theater
200 Civic Center Drive, Charleston, WV
Customer Service — PEIA will provide customer service in each location from 5-6 p.m. If you have questions about medical, prescription or life insurance benefits, come early and get answers. If you can’t attend a hearing in person, please submit comments in writing to PEIA, 601 57th St., SE, Suite 2, Charleston, WV 25304-2345, or by e-mail to: PEIA.Help@wv.gov.