In 2007, while working for a private corporation, I utilized a High Deductible Health Savings Account health plan. High deductible plans are separate from traditional preferred provider organization plans. They are explicitly marketed to the employer's bottom line. Previously, I paid no premium.
Reportedly, employees paid no premium because high deductible plans cost the employer nothing, or next to nothing. The state is now proposing a new high deductible plan with a higher premium than a traditional PPO, this sounds inherently flawed.
Supposedly, this premium increase is because of rising costs of health care. During a recent workshop it was reported that less than 20 percent of individuals meet the high deductible, which leads me to believe that the cost of care rationale is a weak argument. For the 80 percent of us who will not hit our deductible, we will be paying our own costs of care, minus the discounts, not the insurance provider.
I'd like to hear from the public employees benefits program exactly what the insurance provider is charging the state per person. Reportedly, employees are prohibited from declining coverage if eligible. I'd like to know that the premium is the literal cost of the plan and not funding some other debt/-
expense.
Shannon Foster
Carson City
