Lawmakers discuss switch of peace officers’ insurance

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The chairman of the state health insurance system is promising he will work with Nevada Highway Patrol troopers and other peace officers who want to pull out of the plan to join the health coverage of the Teamsters Union.

Terry Johnson, chairman of the Public Employees Benefit Plan, told the Legislative Commission Wednesday that he has been meeting with law enforcement officials and he will see if progress can be made over the next several months on the disputed issue.

On Dec. 3, 2003, the board of directors of the health plan refused to allow the 300 Nevada Highway Patrol troopers and other peace officers to leave the system and that irked some state legislators. Johnson said the board members were concerned about the financial impact that the departures would have on the remaining members.

Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, said the law enforcement personnel should be allowed to leave the system to seek better coverage as long as they meet all the requirements of the law. She suggested this group had met all the requirements of the law.

The law says a group may not leave the health system if it will cause an adverse impact of more than five percent on the remaining members' premiums or their benefits. And the law gives the board of directors discretion to decide if the group should pull out.

Forrest "Woody" Thorne, executive director of the insurance system, told the committee the departure of the troopers and other peace officers would amount to an initial impact of one-half of 1 percent. He said it would have cost the plan $700,000 the first year and would have forced the 20,000 remaining members to each pay $36 more in premiums a year to cover the loss.

Thorne also said, however, that a study showed that the average age for those wanting to leave the system was 10 years younger than the average age of those who would be left in the system. The group that wants to leave is composed of 22 percent more men than women and they are 39 percent more healthier than those remaining, Thorne said, citing the study.

Those demographics compound the higher costs that would come for those who remain, he said.

Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, said it appears that the criteria set up by the insurance board would not allow anybody to leave the system.

The state health system covers state employees, their dependents, some local government workers and retirees.

Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, said it was clear that the Legislature intended to allow members of Teamsters 14 to opt out of the state system. But he said the "mind set" of the board was not to permit the group to "leave under any circumstances."

But Ron Cuzze, president of the State Peace Officers Council, said those statistics were "smoke and mirrors." He said the board was not looking at the right statistics.

He said included in the group that wants to join the Teamsters health insurance fund are officers of the Parole and Probation Division who are over 35 years old. Also included are police officers at the Capitol and Legislative Building who "are no spring chickens" because most of them are retired from other police department, a group that is subject more to injuries in the line of duty.

Senate Majority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, defended the decision of the board. She said there was a great concern about the troopers pulling out of the system, which was "under siege" because of financial problems in the past years.

The insurance program had to be bailed out twice by the Nevada Legislature. But in the last year, it has shown it is financially strong.

Titus said the board has to be very careful not to let groups "cherry pick" those who want to pull out, leaving the older and more vulnerable population.

"We should be very careful who we let out," said Titus. And, she said, that is up to the board.