PEIA Board proposes 2% premium hike for state workers

A crowded room of thirty attendees gathered in Morgantown on Monday night to weigh a proposal that raises health insurance costs for state employees. The PEIA Finance Board moved forward with a plan that increases aggregate premiums by 2% for state workers and their employers for the coming year. The proposal keeps the family tier spousal surcharge unchanged but adds a 1% modification to benefits and raises the employer administrative fee by $2.50.

Executive Director Brent Wolfingbarger explained that the plan generated $187 million in investment gains, a figure he said will help stabilize the system. He noted that the board met all targets in a five-year plan. Wolfingbarger argued that the unexpected income should be used to support retirees. “We had a five-year plan in place, and we hit all of those targets,” he said. “So, why not use some of the investment income that we did not expect to help out the retirees?”

Dale Lee, co-president of Education West Virginia, called the 2% increase far lower than the national average. He stated that the national average premium increase ranges from 9% to 11%. “I’m very pleased this plan beats the projections that there is only a two percent premium increase,” Lee said.

Participating non-state employers face higher costs. The board proposes a 4% premium increase for most non-state plans and a 24% increase for the Gold high-deductible plan. Wolfingbarger described the Gold plan as “very underwater” and said the higher rate is necessary to stop financial losses in that specific tier.

Tom Rise, a retiree who worked as a state employee for 28 years, criticized the legislative process. He said lawmakers promise fixes every year without delivering results. Rise called for action from the governor’s office. “It has to actually come from the top,” Rise said. “It has to come from the governor’s office, and he has to make that recommendation, and I don’t see Governor Morrissey ever making that recommendation for public employees.”

Heather Deluca-Nestor, an eighth grade teacher at South Middle School with more than 25 years of experience, linked the rising costs to staffing shortages. She said some teachers leave PEIA for other opportunities, straining school resources. “We’re continuing to lose teachers; we’re continuing to lose resources,” she said. “I know that it is less than private insurance, but we don’t get raises. We don’t have anything to offset the costs.”

The board holds five more public meetings before finalizing the rate. The next session takes place on Tuesday, November 10, at the Beckley-Raleigh Convention Center. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for November 12, 16, 17, and 19 in virtual, Shepherdstown, Charleston, and Wheeling locations.