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By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
Active and retired employees of the university may have more choices in levels of coverage under a new health-care plan being considered by the state Department of Community Health and the board of regents.
Because of a large deficit in the current university system health-insurance plan and the state health-insurance plan, the regents and Department of Community Health are devising a new health plan for all state employees. Details of the plan won’t be finalized until this spring, but it may allow university employees and retirees to choose from among three options:
• A Preferred Provider Organization plan. The state would contract with a PPO, which in turn would contract with physicians and hospitals to provide varying levels of service at discounted rates. This option would help hold down costs and give employees control over how much they pay for medical care.
• The current Blue Cross/Blue Shield indemnity plan, with some changes. The regents are considering changing the plan to increase annual deductibles and annual out-of-pocket limits. The changes would probably also sharply increase premiums--perhaps by 50 percent or more.
• HMOs, where they are available.
The university will make every effort to ensure that employees have all the information they need to make the best decision on health care, says Loretta Harper, associate vice president for human resources.
“What we know about the plan at this point is preliminary and incomplete,” Harper says. “When we have additional information, we will use a variety of communication methods, including a series of meetings for both on- and off-campus employees, to explain the plan and answer questions.”
An open-enrollment period is being considered for this spring, during which employees would choose their new health-care coverage.
Allan Barber, senior vice president for finance and administration, notified employees about the upcoming changes in health coverage in a Feb. 2 letter to faculty and staff. The letter contained information provided by the board of regents central office.
A regents’ fact sheet accompanying Barber’s letter points out that monthly medical claims under the current Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan rose from $13 million to $16 million between July and December of 1999, and exceeded a million dollars a day for five days this past month. At the current rate, the plan’s deficit is projected to rise by $2.8 million a month.
Gov. Roy Barnes is asking the General Assembly to appropriate funds to cover the current deficits in health insurance, “but long-term changes are essential,” Barber says.
According to the fact sheet, the regents and Department of Community Health are looking into several short-term measures to cut costs, including a rate structure for acute-care hospital services; a contract with a private agency for mental-health and substance-abuse services; management programs for major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease; and participation in a “Centers of Excellence for Transplants” network.
Further information will be provided on any of the measures that are implemented.
By next month, the regents will consider the proposed changes to the Blue Cross/Blue Shield indemnity plan, which would become effective with the next open-enrollment period.
The Department of Community Health is reviewing bids for a statewide PPO. If implemented, an open-enrollment period could be held in the spring, and the PPO option would then be available effective July 1.
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