Tag: PEIA

Democratic Lawmakers Look at Tobacco Tax for 2016

Democratic members of the House of Delegates met Tuesday to discuss their priorities for the 2016 legislative session.

House Minority Leader, Tim Miley of Harrison County shared a handful of the issues he says his party will propose during the 2016 session, but also made clear which Republican backed bills Democrats will oppose.

Those included a repeal of the state’s prevailing wage, the passage of a right-to-work law, and forced pooling; a measure that allows the natural gas industry to force the sale of certain minerals. 

But Miley says his top priority is to fix the funding issue for PEIA.

PEIA – the Public Employees Insurance Agency – is one of the most prominent insurance providers in the state, and it’s received some major cuts in the past year.

Delegate Mick Bates from Raleigh County wants to make up for the funding cuts by raising the tobacco tax.

“What we’re proposing is an increase in the region for a dollar per pack,” Bates explained, “also expanding that to include all tobacco products including e-cigarettes, so that would be the initial increase. Also moving forward, we would propose adding additional ten cents per year over the course of five years.”

Bates says the initial 120 million dollars would go to PEIA in the first year, preventing many benefit cuts, with an additional $60 million in funding each year after. Bates says it would be a quote, “fix and fund now as well as a fix and fund for the future” solution.

House Minority Leader, Tim Miley says being in the minority could make it difficult to get some of their legislation passed, but he hopes by bringing ideas to the table, their voices will be heard.

“This has to be an educational campaign when it comes to the health of our citizens in this state; that’s really what has to be considered, but when the public is educated on what we think would be a benefit for the overall health to our state, they will in turn communicate that same understanding and appreciation to their legislators and we hope we can have change occur down here,” Miley said.

The 2016 legislative session begins Wednesday, January 13.

Agency Votes to Cut $120 Million to Workers' Health Plans

Members of West Virginia’s Public Employees Insurance Agency Finance Board have voted to approve $120 million in cuts to workers’ health plans.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the cuts are slated to affect more than 200,000 public employees and retirees. Board members voted on the cuts Thursday because they say there has been no additional state funding to offset rising health care costs. PEIA says it has exhausted its reserve fund in recent years.

Members are now asking lawmakers to fully fund the program during the upcoming legislative session. The board says it will scrap all proposed cuts for public employees and retirees if legislators allocate the $120 million needed to keep workers’ benefits the same.

Senate President Bill Cole issued a statement following the PEIA decision.

“I was completely dismayed to learn that the Public Employees Insurance Agency Finance Board on Thursday – rather than accept the responsibility that is placed upon them as members – instead voted unanimously to shift the burden for their failure to rest squarely upon the shoulders of the Legislature.

We don’t walk away from tough problems in the Legislature, and we want to make this abundantly clear: West Virginia’s taxpayers will not be left to hold the bag for the bad decisions and poor management of the political status quo, including this PEIA Finance Board.

Unfortunately, the Board has done little to remedy this situation and willfully ignored this festering problem for the last five years, which has now reached critical mass. Its inaction and spending down of its reserves while pretending this issue would magically repair itself is directly responsible for the situation we find ourselves in today.

The Legislature stands committed to working with the Governor, but the Governor needs to offer a workable solution that doesn’t raise taxes on families and is based on fiscal responsibility. The Legislature remains committed to being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. That’s clearly more than can be said for the PEIA Finance Board.”

Budget Cuts & Graduation Rates at November Interims

About a dozen education officials from around the state addressed the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability in an interim meeting Monday.

Budget cuts for higher education has been a topic many in the state find frustrating, and this feeling was no different at Monday’s interim meeting.

At least four speakers mentioned their concern over the 4% budget cut to higher education that has affected many programs across the state.

Rachel Harper is the Chair for the Advisory Council of Students. She has three young children and says she’s a non-traditional student at Bridge Valley Community and Technical College.

She says the budget cut is affecting aid and programs many students need.

“Tutoring programs are in jeopardy and even the necessary classes for our fields are being cut to once a year causing us to not finish on time or cut completely causing us to have to switch schools,” Harper said.

Concerns were also heard on cuts to PEIA recipients in education, and officials asked lawmakers to pay close attention to higher education cuts in the upcoming 2016 session.

The graduation rate at higher education institutions in West Virginia was also discussed.

Dr. Neal Holly, the Vice Chancellor for Policy and Planning at the Higher Education Policy Commission announced that in the 2013-2014 school year, Shepherd University and West Liberty University were above average in their peer group median, while the other nine institutions in the state were below.

These peer groups are statistically selected based on enrollment, location, and faculty size as well as other factors.

PEIA Sets Hearings on Proposed Benefits Cuts

The West Virginia state employee and retiree insurance program is asking the public to weigh in on cuts in benefits it proposed earlier in October.

The Public Employees Insurance Agency said it plans to cut benefits by nearly $83 million for active employees and about $41 million for retirees, primarily through sharply higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

The plan for 2016-’17 also would increase premiums by 8 percent for retirees and 3 percent for non-state public workers.

According to a PEIA news release, six public hearings have been scheduled around the state about the proposed changes. Each hearing begins at 6 p.m., with registration open an hour before. You must register to speak.

Hearings will be held:

Monday, Nov. 2, 2015 – Morgantown
Ramada Inn – Grand Ballroom
20 Scott Avenue, Morgantown, WV

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 – Martinsburg
Holiday Inn – Foxcroft Ballroom
301 Foxcroft Avenue, Martinsburg, WV

Monday, Nov. 9, 2015 – Wheeling
WV Northern Community College – Auditorium
1704 Market Street, Wheeling, WV

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 – Charleston
Charleston Civic Center – Little Theater
200 Civic Center Drive, Charleston, WV

Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015 – Beckley
Tamarack – Ballroom A
One Tamarack Park, Beckley, WV

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015 – Huntington
Marshall Medical School – Harless Auditorium
1600 Medical Center Drive, Huntington, WV

If you can’t attend a hearing in person, you can submit comments in writing to PEIA, 601 57th St., SE, Suite 2, Charleston, WV 25304-2345 or by e-mail to PEIA.Help@wv.gov.

You can also complete an on-line survey, which will be available at www.wvpeia.com by the end of October.

W.Va. Public Workers Could Face More Cuts in Health Benefits

West Virginia public workers could face another round of health insurance benefit cuts.

Public Employees Insurance Agency executive director Ted Cheatham says the agency has to cut about $60 million for the 2016-2017 plan because state funding isn’t expected to increase.

Cheatham tells The Charleston Gazette-Mail that PEIA staff will present a list of possible cuts to the agency’s Finance Board in October. Following public hearings in November, the board will approve the 2016-2017 plan in December.

The PEIA imposed $40 million in cuts for the current plan that went into effect July 1. Those cuts were achieved primarily through increasing deductibles and co-pays.

The agency provides health insurance for employees of the state, public schools and other government entities.

Exit mobile version