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CalPERS premiums rise by up to 8 percent
By Jon Ortiz - jortiz@sacbee.com
Last Updated 5:34 am PDT Friday, June 20, 2008
Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D5
They didn't like it, but leaders of the California Public Employees' Retirement System on Thursday adopted new health insurance contracts that increase premiums on its most popular plans by up to 8 percent next year.
Under the new 2009 contracts:
• Blue Shield of California's lowest-cost NetValue premiums will be $1,161 per month, up 3.75 percent from this year's rate.
• The family premium for Kaiser's HMO will increase 8.16 percent to $1,227 per month.
• Premiums for CalPERS' most expensive HMO option, Blue Shield Access+, will go up 5.33 percent to $1,313 per month for families.
Several CalPERS board members, including President Rob Feckner and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, have complained about the Kaiser increases. Kaiser says its increase is in line with overall industry trends.
Last month, the board approved a slight premium decrease for 2009 – about 0.04 percent overall – for its self-funded preferred provider health insurance programs. When averaged with the HMO premiums, Cal- PERS' overall premium hike of 4.3 percent for its entire health care menu of plans is the smallest increase in more than a decade, the fund said.
CalPERS, with $241 billion in assets, spends about $5 billion annually on health care benefits – only the federal government and General Motors Corp. pay more.
The fund's spring insurance premium announcement is a closely watched indicator of what it will cost companies nationwide to buy health care for the 158 million Americans with job-based coverage.
About the writer:
- Call The Bee's Jon Ortiz, (916) 321-1043.
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