State Employee Health Plan Premiums Rise

November 16, 2000 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Average monthly premiums for state employee HMO's rose 9.3% last year, compared with just 4.7% for point of service (POS) plans, according to a new survey.

The Segal Company’s Survey of State Employee Health Benefit Plans found that just 26 states offered preferred provider organizations (PPOs), down from 31 states three years ago.

HMO/POS enrollment increased, despite an overall decrease in the number of plans offered to participants nationally. Over 1.7 million employees were enrolled in the plans in 1999.

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For the 43 reporting states with indemnity coverage, the average monthly cost for employee coverage increased 6.6%, while the number of states reporting that their indemnity plans were self-insured in 1999 (32) has remained relatively static over the past decade.

As a group, the states that participated in the survey in 1999 budgeted more than $10.6 billion for their health plans, ranging from Montana’s $31.6 million to Georgia’s $893.3 million.

The survey includes baseline data for such items as how managed-care quality is measured; the availability of Medicare-risk-contract HMOs; state contributions to Medicare Part B premiums for retirees; and, the availability of domestic partner coverage.

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