CalPERS Committee Set To Announce HMO Premiums for 2009
Today, a CalPERS committee will release its tentative HMO premiums for 2009, which are widely seen as an indicator of what employers can expect in the way of health insurance costs, the Sacramento Bee reports.
In May, CalPERS decided it would provide $60 million for its self-funded PPO plans so members' premiums would not increase. According to the Bee, the move was intended to pressure Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield of California into limiting HMO premium increases.
Last spring, trustees approved a 7.4% premium increase in HMO rates for 2008, the lowest increase in five years. Nonetheless, CalPERS' HMO premiums have increased by 101% since 2002 (Ortiz, Sacramento Bee, 6/18).