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STATE INSURANCE INCREASES AVERAGE 6.5%

MAY 2008: Following the announcement in February that all existing health plan contracts will be extended for at least another year, the state’s thirteen-member Group Insurance Commission (GIC) approved the new health insurance rates for Fiscal Year 2009.
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BLUE CROSS DECLINES TO BID

NOVEMBER 2008: On November 28, the last date of placing a bid for the state GIC’s July ‘08 contract, BC/BS formally announced that it would not bid on the contract. BC/BS last bid on the state contracts in 1988, when they GIC moved its Indemnity Plan coverage to John Hancock.
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Retiree Dental Plan

SEPT 2007 - At a recent Group Insurance Commission (GIC) meeting, Director Dolores Mitchell hailed the Retiree Dental Plan as a “real success story.” We couldn’t agree with her more.
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State PreFunds Retiree Healthcare

SEPT 2007 - With little fanfare, the state has begun the monumental task of pre-funding future retiree healthcare costs. This action was taken in response to the mandate, imposed on it by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board or GASB, to include, in its financial reports, the unfunded liability associated with future retiree healthcare costs.
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Retiree Drug Subsidy

2007 MAY - Over two years ago, our Association called upon the state and local governments to earmark federal retiree drug subsidies (RDS) toward defraying retiree healthcare costs. Among our proposals, we suggested that since these federal funds would be paid for by retirees who were enrolled in Medicare, then the RDS should be used to refund these same retirees for the premiums that they pay under Medicare Part B.

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