IMPORTANT PEIA ALERT

At a meeting of the legislature’s select committee on PEIA and Long-Term Care held on Monday, November 17, PEIA announced that their proposed plan will not include both the premium increases and benefit cuts as currently proposed.  Rather, PEIA officials, in response to questions by AFT-WV, announced that the final plan will include either a premium increase or the proposed benefit cuts or a mixture of the two.  But the plan will not include an increase in premiums of 9% for active employees and 11% for retirees and the benefit cuts as proposed.  While AFT-WV is pleased to hear of this clarification, the proposed cuts and premium increases will still shift the cost of healthcare unfairly to the employee, especially to those who go out-of-state to receive medical treatment. PEIA has a reserve fund that exceeds the legal threshold and the funds should be used to offset any employee and retiree premium increases and benefit cuts.

In other legislative news, the Joint Education Committee, Subcommittee “C”,  heard a report by Marshall University’s Center for Business and Economic Research on teacher salaries, how they compare with other states and the nation, how they compare with comparable professions and possible methods to make our salaries more attractive and competitive.  Much of the data on salaries was derived from a 2008 AFT report.

The conclusions of the report are noteworthy not because they tell us something new.  Rather, the data is important because an “independent” group has validated what we have been saying all along.  Namely, we lag behind the contiguous states and the rest of the nation when it comes to teacher pay.  

Here are the conclusions as presented in the report:

1. When compared to surrounding states and the US average, West Virginia teachers at the 10^th percentile, median and 90^th percentile, are paid less by significant amounts.  
2. The greatest disparity exists for the more experienced teachers.  Said differently, we are more competitive at the 10^th percentile (new teachers), but we lag behind other states and the nation for the more experienced and qualified teachers.
3. Teachers are paid less than individuals holding similar jobs requiring similar education and training.  These conclusions are consistent across all percentiles (10^th, median and 90^th).
4. The remuneration received for most of the comparable occupations is below what is paid on average nationwide and in surrounding states.  However, in some cases the difference is slight.
5. Methods suggest by the report to increase teacher salaries:

·         Raising the state minimum scale used in the Public School Support Program

·         Enact a state-wide excess levy on property which would be designated exclusively for increasing teacher salaries.

·         Designate a portion of an existing tax to pay the increased costs of increasing teacher salaries.

AFT-WV attended the committee meeting and offered testimony in support of increasing salaries.  No action was taken nor was any recommendation made.  

11/17/2008

Lawmakers Hear About Proposed PEIA Changes MetroNews Charleston, Kanawha County

It's an either/or situation.

Lawmakers met Monday to hear more about the proposed changes in PEIA coverage for state workers and retirees.

PEIA Chief Financial Officer Jason Hill told a legislative committee Monday that a change in the medical climate is forcing the Finance Board to make some unpopular decisions.  They either need to increase premiums or decrease benefits. It's one or the other.

PEIA is holding a series of public meetings around the state to inform those covered by PEIA about the possible changes.  The changes were introduced the day after the election. The week after that, the public meetings started.

Wayne County Delegate Don Perdue is not sold on the either/or plan. "It has come quickly and that's part of our problem is trying to understand the reasoning for it, the whys of it, then what is it going to do."

Hill says there's a tough decision to make.

Current employees can accept a 9% premium increase and retirees can accept a 6% premium increase and keep their current benefits or stay with their current premiums and take cuts to their benefits.  That would mean charging more for going to an out-of-state provider, an increase when it comes to non-preferred drugs and increasing costs for those who use tobacco.

Perdue says he's not sure he's in favor of PEIA's either/or tactic.  He says he wants more options from the Finance Board. "I strongly urge them to reconsider what they're doing and to consider other alternative pursuits."

Greenbrier County Delegate Tom Campbell says, in the end, it's the Finance Board that holds the cards. "Ultimately it's a Finance Board decision. It's not a legislative decision. But obviously we're elected by the people so we need to be in tune with what is going on."

 Proposed PEIA Plan Changes