When senators asked insurance and health officials Thursday for details about why insurance rates are increasing dramatically next year for government employees, answers, at first, were vague: “The insurance company was losing money” and “Market costs overall are increasing.”
When Sen. Angel Bolques asked the officials how they were addressing inefficiencies in medical care and insurance coverage, again, no clear answers were given. Bolques called the cost of health insurance “astronomical.”
However, the picture became clearer when the discussion at the Committee of the Whole hearing turned to dollar figures.
Deepali Sahi, senior client manager at Cigna, said 215 employees have received over $100,000 in benefits, and two have received over $2 million each.
Gilbert Comissiong, co-chairperson of the Government Employment Service Commission Board of Trustees, testified that the government was looking at a $20 million increase in health insurance costs.
So, the question behind the discussion was whether the government would absorb this 9.7 percent increase that the GESC requested to be approved.
Sen. Javan James noted that when he said, “We know what time it is. We want to be sure we are getting the bang for our buck.”
Comissiong stated that if government employees had to pay the total increase, it would dramatically affect their paychecks. He said, “Therefore, we implore the Senate to continue the existing cost share … and if the Senate cannot absorb the increase in its entirety, we ask the Senate to not levy more than a four percent increase to the payroll deductions for our employees and retirees.”
Senators in attendance included Francis, Dwayne DeGraff, Samuel Carrion, Diane Capehart, Javan James Sr., Franklin Johnson, Marvin Blyden, Bolques, and Carla J. Joseph.
