Las Vegas Sun

February 13, 2012

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Board recommends $70 million in cuts to state insurance plan

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Friday, Aug. 6, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

CARSON CITY — A state board has recommended slicing more than $70 million in benefits from the health insurance plan that covers some 74,000 state workers, retirees, their dependents and some local government workers.

And that’s not the end of the effort to reduce the program by $111 million.

The board will be back in September to decide on increases in premiums for the enrollees and to put the finishing touches on plan.

It’s all part of an effort to trim $3 billion from the state’s budget for the next two fiscal years. It’s a painful process that will hit lower-paid workers and retirees hard.

Stephanie Fawcett, who has four children and earns less than $25,000 a year at the state Department of Motor Vehicles, said she has been hit with pay reductions and furloughs.

She asked the board of the Public Employees’ Benefits Program if some children of low-paid state workers could be included in the Nevada Check-Up program, whose cost is shared by the federal and state government.

Jim Wells, executive director of the benefits program, said that is being explored.

The board also decided to raise deductibles from $800 to $2,000 for an individual, and less vision and dental costs will be covered. Routine vision benefits are eliminated except for an annual eye examination. Coverage for joint disorders will be reduced from 80 to 50 percent.

The board voted to eliminate dental benefits, except for routine preventive services such as two annual cleanings and X-rays. Enrollees would have to pay for such things as fillings.

Some retirees, who also have Medicare coverage, will be shifted into a program where they will decide which private companies handle their claims.

Jacque Ewing-Taylor, vice chairwoman of the board, said many of the lower-paid employees are having trouble putting food on the table and hanging on to their homes. Raising deductibles “causes me heartburn,” she said.

The board voted to slice by 50 percent basic life insurance payouts from $20,000 to $10,000 for employees and from $10,000 to $5,000 for retirees.

It reduced long-term disability insurance coverage from 60 percent to 40 percent of base pay. The employee will have the option of picking up the rest of the coverage premium.

All of the changes must be included in the budget approved by the governor and submitted to the Legislature, and most don’t become effective until next July.

Jim Richardson, representing university workers, said, “You made an initial step to test the waters. You didn’t jump into the deep.”

Marty Bibb, representing the retired public employees, called the change in handling those with Medicare a “dramatic high speed U-turn, and retirees are concerned.”

It was pointed out that most of the people attending the all-day meeting were retirees, because state employees had to work.

The staff’s recommendation initially called for $80.7 million in reductions. But a board spokesman said the cuts would be less than that and a final number will be available in September.

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