37th in the World for health care.... Obama 2008...

Cost of health benefits going up for state workers
Increase will average 7.5 percent for Georgia employees, retirees
By ANDY MILLER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


First, state employees saw their pay frozen. Now they face a 7.5 percent increase in the cost of their health benefits.

The financial double whammy was completed Thursday when the Department of Community Health approved premium increases for the health plan covering state employees.

The 7.5 percent increase for 2009 benefits is an average. Some employees will see even higher premium boosts, while others, especially those in high-deductible plans, will have a smaller increase.

The state’s growing cost of providing benefits tracks the experience of employers across the nation.

The State Health Benefit Plan covers 690,000 state employees, schoolteachers, dependents and retirees.

As employers’ insurance costs have soared over the years — at higher rates than inflation and wage growth — many workers, in turn, have been forced to pay more in premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

State employees have been socked with a series of premium increases, said Jeff Hubbard, president of the Georgia Association of Educators.

The insurance increases especially hurt lower-paid employees such as custodians and bus drivers, many of whom “work for the benefits,” Hubbard said.

Georgia teachers and state employees were scheduled to receive a 2.5 percent pay raise in July. But because of the state’s fiscal crisis, Gov. Sonny Perdue recently froze the pay of the state’s 110,000 workers. Teachers and school personnel will receive raises.

Hubbard also noted that employees will have fewer choices of health insurers. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia will not be offered to employees this coming year. Blue Cross has appealed the state’s 2009 contract award to UnitedHealthcare and Cigna, which will cover the majority of employees.

Kaiser Permanente’s HMO option for state employees will be phased out after 2009. Kaiser also is appealing the contract award. In addition, the state is terminating the old-style, fee-for-service benefit option.

By choosing a high-deductible option, workers in other health plans can reduce their premiums, state officials said. The state is controlling health costs by encouraging use of generic drugs, fully covering preventive care, and helping to manage chronic disease, Community Health officials said.

Open enrollment for state employees to choose a health plan begins Oct. 10 and concludes Nov. 10.



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Jim Nichols
A Speculative Fiction
www.JimNichols4.com

Republican stewardship of the economy... cut taxes then run for the hills when the consequences for that come to pass...

Double whammy awaits some state employees (Macon Telegraph)

The American consumer has been the "Little Engine that Could" for the nation's economy, but the engine is running out of steam. In Georgia, sales tax collections are down, way down, 6.6 percent last month, and it's turning into a trend. Gov. Sonny Perdue had to pull $600 million out of reserves to balance the state's books at the end of June, and the picture continues to be grim. The state is estimating a $1.6 billion shortfall this budget year. And so, out comes the ax, and for most, the cuts will be severe.

State workers, with the exception of teachers, had their raises chopped, but don't think the teachers escaped unscathed. Thursday the Department of Community Health raised the premium due from all employees for health coverage 7.5 percent. Some might call that a salary cut.

Can you imagine what shape cities and counties and school board would be in if Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson's proposal to shift most taxing authority to the state had passed? Where would they find the money to fill the gap left by the state?

School systems are dealing with a 2 percent cut, $153 million, that just so happens to mirror austerity cuts that were supposed to be restored. Makes you wonder. With the governor's effort to pull 6 percent out of the entire budget, all avenues are being explored. Some departments, such as the state Insurance Commissioners Office, will require employees to take a monthly day off without pay. The Department of Technical and Adult Education is considering a four-day school week and eliminating programs. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is set to close crime labs and is pulling investigators off the street to provide security for the agency's headquarters, rather than paying a private firm. The Georgia State Patrol, already understaffed, may have to reduce its presence on the state's roads even more.

This boiling crisis comes at a time when Georgia is facing monumental growth. Metro Atlanta has 70,000 more residents than it had last year, and there is no end in sight. Most population forecasts have underestimated the number of people expected to move into the state.

Most times growth is a good thing. It means new jobs and opportunities. It also means an increase in the need for state services. Some agencies churn right along in the background. We never notice them until we have to stand in line a little longer at a Department of Driver Services office or find the Labor Department shuttered. However, there are many duties of state government that are essential to quality of life, as well as life itself. If the economy stays in the doldrums for any length of time, hang on.

Charles E. Richardson/for the Editorial Board

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Jim Nichols
A Speculative Fiction
www.JimNichols4.com

GA Data 2008

UGA plans cuts; layoffs possible

Gov. Sonny Perdue's order to all state agencies to suggest 3.5 percent cuts from their state budgets for the 2009 fiscal year, which began July 1, and 4 percent from proposed budgets for fiscal 2010.

State tax collections are down by 1.1 percent over the last year, Perdue said Wednesday.

The governor said he would probably take $600 million out of the state's $1.5 billion reserve to balance the budget for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

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Jim Nichols
A Speculative Fiction
www.JimNichols4.com