PACIFICARE: Seeks Premium Increase to Cover State Retirees
Going back on its three-year-old promise to "tie rate increases to the consumer price index," PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. has asked the California Public Employees' Retirement System to renegotiate its contract in order to keep step with health care inflation, the Los Angeles Times reports. The company noted that its permitted 2.5% rate increase to cover the 1 million retirees does not compensate for the 5% increase in costs. Meanwhile, several HMOs are presenting similar requests, typically seeking 7.3% increases. The retirement system said it will reach a final decision Tuesday (Bernstein, 5/15).
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