Chuck Stone

State Treasurer Janet Cowell rushed the State Health Plan's Board of Trustees to approve a proposal on Feb. 4 that would add surcharges of up to $40 per month to the premiums that state employees and retirees pay for health coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2014.
Under the new structure of the State Health Plan's 80/20 option, state employees and non-Medicare eligible retirees (younger than 65 years old) will be charged a $20 per month smoking surcharge, a $10 per month surcharge for not completing a health assessment and a $10 per month surcharge for not identifying a primary care doctor.
State employees and non-Medicare eligible retirees will also be charged the current monthly premium. The total monthly cost could be as much as $40 more than members of the plan would have paid in 2014 under the current structure.
Cowell gave SEANC and state workers little time for input on the proposal, rushing trustees to vote just days after announcing it.  At the meeting, SEANC Legislative Affairs Director Ardis Watkins spoke out against the timing of the vote, which was held just one business day after the State Health Plan made the proposal public.
SEANC District 22 member Michele Shaw, a trustee, cast the lone vote against the proposal that passed 7-1, arguing that state employees deserved more time to study the plan before it could be approved.
SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope pointed out that SEANC fought to move control of the plan from the General Assembly to the current board system to allow for a more transparent process.
"State employees shouldn't have to jump through hoops for affordable health care," he said. "The way that the state treasurer went about this process is also troubling. It seems a lot like the same old system of secrecy we were trying to stop by moving the plan away from the General Assembly."
Members will gain credits for meeting certain wellness objectives, including a $20 monthly credit for not smoking or for starting a cessation program, a $15 monthly credit for completing a heath assessment and a $15 monthly credit for designating a primary care physician.
If an employee or non-Medicare eligible retiree meets all of the above requirements, his or her premium will end up being $10 less than the current level. This is because the credits available under the plan amount to $50 but the surcharges only amount to $40.
But SEANC estimates that up to 50 percent of those covered by the 80/20 plan will be hit with at least one of the surcharges.
Active employees and retirees will have the option to remain on the current premium-free 70/30 plan or select an 85/15 consumer driven option that includes the surcharges as well.