MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The final in-person opportunity for state workers to voice concerns about increases proposed by the Public Employee Insurance Agency for the 2027 plan year will be in Morgantown Monday night.
PEIA is considering a 3 percent increase for monthly premiums which also comes with a $200 monthly spousal surcharge increase. If approved, the increases would go into effect next July 1.
There were vocal crowds last week for public meetings in Martinsburg and Charleston. State workers lamented in being asked to pay more for health insurance. Both premiums and deductibles increased by 14 percent his past July 1.
Co-president of Education West Virginia Dale Lee said teachers have had their earning power significantly reduced by the increased cost for health insurance. Lee maintains those on PEIA have seen a long, sustained increase in costs like no others in the state.
“If you look at the last three years, we had a 24.5 percent, 10.5 percent, and 14 percent increase,” Lee said last week on MetroNews Midday. “Very few plans go up 49.5 percent over a three-year period like that.”
Lee said while the cost of PEIA has been going up, efforts to increase teacher pay legislatively have not kept pace. He said public school teachers in the Mountain State are among the lowest paid in the nation, with an average salary of $50,315 as of the 2021-2022 school year. The National Education Association ranks West Virginia 50th out of 51 states, including the District of Columbia, for teacher salary.
“So, people are actually making less money than they did last year, and with the rate of inflation and costs going up, it just drives people out of the state,” Lee said.
Berkeley County Board of Education president Jackee Long said recently the low median price for a home there is between $260,000 and $275,000, and the average home price is around $330,000, putting home ownership out of reach for most.
“The average Berkeley County teacher’s salary is $50,495, and the average Berkeley County service personnel salary is $28,800,” Long said.
State Senator Darren Thorne, R-Hampshire said locality pay could be a difficult sell for elected officials in rural areas.
“It’s not necessarily locality pay at that point; then we have to do it across the whole state,” Thorne said. “If they see we give a $20,000 raise in Berkeley County, then they’ll want that in Mingo County.”
Adding to that difficulty would be the perception that the Berkeley County area is already an area with few unmet needs, according to Delegate Chuck Horst, R, Berkeley, 93.
“My suspicion is many of these delegates and senators from rural areas of the state look at the Eastern Panhandle as having everything,” Horst said. “I get a sense they feel like they shouldn’t have to give that extra.”
Registration for the PEIA Finance Board meeting in Morgantown on Monday begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Mountainlair Gold Ballroom and the meeting begins at 6 p.m.
One more virtual opportunity will be held this Thursday night.