Health insurance rate increase in offing for GHLI members

Commonwealth retirees are facing a rate increase in their health insurance premiums after the NMI Retirement Fund board disclosed Friday that a new charge is being proposed by existing carrier Aetna Global.

Fund administrator Richard Villagomez and Fund legal counsel Carolyn Kern reported during Friday’s board meeting that Aetna’s contract is up for renewal today, Nov. 1. Since the Group Health Life Insurance is a government program, any final decision lies with the Executive Branch.

Villagomez said the contract renewal is now being negotiated by the administration and the carrier but no decision has been reached yet. He disclosed that Aetna submitted two options, both of which would result in rate increases.

Because the rate increases are not final yet, Villagomez refused to make the numbers public until the Executive Branch makes the selection. One thing is obvious, however, and that is, retirees should expect an increase in rates very soon. Further details of the proposed contract were discussed in an executive session Friday.

Since the Fund pays 50 percent of premium contributions, board chair Sixto Igisomar said this will mean a substantial burden on the Fund as well.

“As a board, our only role here is to advise what’s going on and what’s happening. One thing that really concerns us is our retirees, if they are protected properly,” said Igisomar, adding that the board wants to make sure that the added cost will not be too heavy for retirees.

Aetna’s contract is renewable every year.

When asked why the Aetna contract was placed on the board’s table only last week, Igisomar said that that’s the same issue he wants to talk about with the administrator at the executive session. He confirmed seeing the proposed rates but declined to discuss it, citing the need for more information and justifications.

“I’ve seen the proposed contract renewal of Aetna and I’ve seen the numbers. The increase is close to substantial, but they indicated justifications on why they need an increase. Until everything is final, I don’t want to further discuss this matter,” Igisomar told Saipan Tribune during a break.

Aetna has so far been the only carrier willing to handle the insurance plan for retirees and active government employees.

Besides the Aetna contract, the board also discussed proposed changes to the existing GHLI regulation, which were also referred for further discussion in the closed-door meeting.

Kern revealed that the current regulations no longer apply to Aetna and need to be amended. She presented a 12-page memorandum to the board explaining why a portion of the GHLI regulations need to be repealed, but because of the many concerns raised by the board, they voted to discuss it in an executive session.

The board approved a 33-percent rate hike in the health insurance premiums of members in October last year.