The Public Employees Insurance Agency is getting a new executive director.
Brian Cunningham, an Ivydale native, has been appointed by the Justice administration to serve in the role.
“Brian has spent his career working with community health centers and nonprofits,” Gov. Jim Justice said during a briefing today.
Most recently, Cunningham was executive director of West Virginia PATH, which stands for People’s Access to Help. The program is meant to guide people with low income and limited resources to health programs including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicare Premium Assistance.
He was also a consultant to the WV Medicaid Managed Care program.
“Naturally, I’m very excited to bring Brian on as director of PEIA,” Justice said today. “It’s a big job, and I’m sure he’ll take the task and run with it. We feel very, very confident that this is the man to be able to step into this position now.”
Jason Haught has been serving as the interim director and will go back to his prior role as the chief financial officer. The previous director, Ted Cheatham, retired in late 2021.
“He’ll go back to his previous position,” the governor said of Haught.
The insurance program for about 230,000 public employees continues to be a focus of government.
A broad plan passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor mandates a return to an 80-20 cost share between government employers and public employees. That ratio had gotten out of whack in recent years because of a reserve that state officials originally set up to hold premiums flat.
Aspects of the new law spell out the fiduciary responsibilities of the members of PEIA’s finance board. There’s guidance for the PEIA finance board to base its conclusions on an 80-20 employer and employee match. The bill also requires an actuarial study to address the financial solvency of the plan
Another aspect of the new law only allows spouses who aren’t public employees to remain on PEIA if they buy in at actuarial-determined rates.
The PEIA Finance Board has taken many of the initial steps of the changes.