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Govt health insurance premiums rise
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Posted on Oct 31 2008
Premiums for the Commonwealth’s employee health plan will rise by 12.9 percent, a sizeable increase from the previous year.
The NMI Retirement Fund, which administers the privatized Group Health and Life Insurance program, said that the health carrier, Aetna Global Benefits will implement the across-the-board increase today.
Fund administrator Mark Aguon in an interview said that Aetna’s decision follows a trend among health insurance carriers across the nation. “Health care premiums in the United States have been going up. They [Aetna] did their best to minimize the increase. But in order to maintain the coverage, the premium increase has to come into effect,” he said.
Aguon said the increase is expected to cost the government and the employees an additional $1.5 million in health care premiums. Currently, health care premiums total approximately $12 million a year.
He added, however, that the increase will have varying impacts on government agencies. Some agencies pay a higher percentage of the premiums than others. The government share in health care premiums ranges from 30 percent to 50 percent, according to Aguon.
In a letter to Finance Secretary Eloy S. Inos, Aguon reminded the CNMI government to make needed budgetary changes to take the premium increase into account.
Premium increases were also implemented simultaneously with the privatization of the group health insurance program last year. On Nov. 1, 2007, Aetna established uniform premium rates, which required subscribers to pay up to 43 percent and the government almost double for certain enrollees.
Group health insurance coverage is optional for government employees.
