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PEIA’s sixth and final public hearing Thursday in Charleston

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Public Employee Insurance Agency Finance Board will conduct its sixth and final public hearing in the last 10 days Thursday night in Charleston.

The board is considering $40 million in cuts in the state workers’ health insurance program and board members are proposing several ways to meet that mark. The board is using the public hearings to allow state workers to decide.

“We’re asking more so than any year feedback from the members in terms of which revisions would be more palatable,” PEIA spokesperson Diane Holley-Brown said.

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.

“PEIA understands the members would prefer no changes, however, we hope to receive the feedback at the public hearings on which benefits would be most acceptable,” Holley-Brown said.

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.

Holley-Brown said the public meetings, which began last week in Beckley, have been well-attended. The board was in Wheeling Wednesday night. Thursday’s hearing will be held in the Little Theatre at the Charleston Civic Center. Customer service opportunities and registration for the public hearing begin at 5 p.m., the public hearing itself at 6 p.m.

The finance board will consider the public comments and decide which changes to make at the board’s Dec. 4 meeting. The changes will go into effect July 1, 2015





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