JACKSON - Lawmakers are proposing changes to the health insurance program for state employees, hoping to root out abuse and save money.
The Senate approved a House bill Wednesday that requires an employee to work four years before being eligible for the retirement health plan. The bill was amended to give a state board the option of providing various levels of coverage to employees.
The legislation heads back to the House, which could accept the changes or agree to negotiate a compromise.
State Insurance Administrator Therese Hanna said health care costs have risen the last few years, forcing the State and School Employees Health Insurance Management Board to raise deductibles, premiums and drug co-payments to help cover those costs.
Gov. Haley Barbour has supported offering options in the insurance plan. According to his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the state could save $25 million by giving workers the choice of either maintaining no premium and have a higher deductible; or having a $25 premium, a similar deductible to what they have now, with more coverage.
Hanna said the board supports the legislation. She said it gives the board the freedom to design levels of coverage for the 192,000 state employees and retirees in the plan.
Currently, the basic coverage has a $450 medical deductible, $50 pharmacy deductible and co-payments ranging from $12 to $50 on prescription drugs, depending on brand.
"There are some people who may not be satisfied with what they offer. We want them to be able to offer additional services," said Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl.
But Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, said the bill allows the board to strip down basic coverage and then sell those benefits back to state employees.
"It sets in motion the process to dramatically cut back the insurance benefits that state employees have," Bryan said.
Insurance Commissioner George Dale, a member of the board, said it has been difficult to hold down costs on the state employees program. He said consultants have been hired to explore ways of reducing costs.
The Legislature appropriates the money for the insurance
premiums, which are expected to increase from $280 to $305 a month for an active employee in the fiscal year that starts July 1, Hanna said.
Lawmakers say the four years service requirement will help eradicate abuse within the insurance program. "The way the law reads now, they can come to work a day or a week or a month and be eligible for the health insurance for retirement," Kirby said. "That's not fair to those who have been paying in for years to keep the system solvent."
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