State Workers Speak Out About Possible Health Insurance Hike
State Workers Speak Out About Possible Health Insurance Hike Save Email Print
Posted: 11:01 PM Nov 19, 2008
 Last Updated: 11:01 PM Nov 19, 2008
 Reporter: Kallie Cart
Email Address: kallie.cart@wsaz.com
14 comments
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- State workers facing proposed raises on insurance premiums voiced their concerns Wednesday night during a public hearing.

PEIA officials said they can't bear the rising cost of health care, but must raise premiums or cut benefits. As a result, their plan is to increase insurance premiums by 9 percent for current employees and 11 percent for retirees.

PEIA is also proposing raising co-pays from $20 to $30 for out-of-state doctor visits, which unions say would fail teachers in the border counties.

Wednesday's was the fifth public meeting that PEIA has held throughout the state. Officials will consider all the comments before they make a decision on Dec. 4. The last public hearing will be Thursday night in Huntington at Marshall University's medical school.
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Posted by: Karen do you work on Nov 20, 2008 at 09:13 PM
or ride that husbands check? For your information the PEIA premiums are some of the most expensive in the nation. You should do some fact finding before posting up something you obviously have no clue about. Have you had to remortgage your home or take a loan to get a proceedure - it is a common reality for PEIA patrons who have no choice but to suck it up. Those pay raises you keep hearing state employees get they usually work like this for free riding state employees - get an additional 12 dollars a pay period and the insurance raises 30. So once again the bunch of you complaining do you have a clue before you post all this negativity? Do you have any idea how many state workers are forced to work sick because they cannot afford to go get the care they need? Do you have any clue as to how much state workers pay for premiums then are denied the care or medication a physician prescribes because your insurance says you don't need it and play GOD. I feel the answers to my questions is NO!
Posted by: Time for care on Nov 20, 2008 at 04:34 PM
If the employees in private companies don't have health care and the cost to working people continues to go up while services are cut, it is time to care about universal health coverage.
Posted by: Karen on Nov 20, 2008 at 04:04 PM
My husband pays half for premium each month for health care. It is about time state workers pay instead of being given a free ride.
Posted by: anonymous on Nov 20, 2008 at 03:55 PM
I think EVERYONE should COMPLAIN about Health and Dental Insurance all over West Virginia and every other STATE! A LOT of people don't have any HEALTH or DENTAL INSURANCE! To RAISE it HIGHER on RETIREES IS NOT RIGHT EITHER! Every AMERICAN, Men,Women,Babies,Tots,Teens should have Health & Dental Care. The people we voted in and others in Washington who don't have to worry about their Health and Dental Care or JOBS has been fixing this for years and years and it ( NEVER ) gets fixed. When ELECTION TIME gets close, this is one of the FIRST things they all ADDRESS to get your VOTE They don't want to FIX IT! THINK ABOUT IT! How many PROMISES Years, after Years after Years,after Years have they been FIXING IT! WORKING & POOR people Young and Old and their FAMILIES pay the PRICE! We ALL NEED and WANT the BEST Health & Dental Care! SPREAD THE WEALTH! GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Posted by: william on Nov 20, 2008 at 02:10 PM
i have no insurance where i work so suck it up and stop complaining. At least you have it. I and alot of others like me do not have any insurance at all.
Posted by: working poor on Nov 20, 2008 at 01:15 PM
I have been with the same employer for 3 years. My individual policy cost me $55.00 per week, with a $5000.00 deductible. If I were to add my wife and and two kids it would cost nearly $700.00 per month. If you think your insurance cost are too high, come and walk in my shoes, or better yet. Open the door and step into the real world. Thanksgiving is next week. Be thankful!!!
Posted by: State Worker on Nov 20, 2008 at 12:53 PM
I just want to say that I have worked for the state for several years, and this is asking too much. I pay what I consider to be a substantial amount for insurance already. I maintain the insurance because my husband currently does not have insurance at his place of employment. I think it is time that the policians live up to some of their promises. State worker provide vital services to recipents of State Medicaid and often does not have the benefits that their client's have. I have always felt this is realy wrong, that tax payers are left out and many that simply choose to not work, have benefits. Also their children are to be valued, but ours are too. I say enough is enough!
Posted by: WonderWonder on Nov 20, 2008 at 11:22 AM
To be more accurate the news should state the full amount paid. My insurance went up 40.00 per month and copays do too. 220.00/month. Medicines increased up $30 each.
Posted by: pat on Nov 20, 2008 at 08:24 AM
When so many others have no ins. coverage whatsoever, a sm. increase for these professionals (who by the way, should have been stashing away some rainy day money) should not be acting like children. Life, it seems, can get more ugly than imagined and preparation should be the word of the day.
Posted by: Me on Nov 20, 2008 at 08:01 AM
The health insurance for my family is almost 200 dollars a WEEK...think about that.
Posted by: State employee on Nov 20, 2008 at 07:59 AM
But those self-employed are not making poverty level wages while keeping this state government open and running. This rate increase and benefits cut is absolutely unneeded when we have a budget surplus, spend $17Million on a basement upgrade for a museum @ the capital, and more than $150,000 / year for a man from NC to watch it be remodeled, plus millions on upgrades to the Gov's mansion, to the capital dome, etc. But, as the speaker said lastnight @ the public PEIA hearing, at least we get to see WVU & MU play football, what a governor we have in Manchin folks. State employees and school personnel are needed employees just like any other, they are hard working, but they are the lowest paid public employees in the nation. It used to be worth it to work for the state of WV because the lack of pay was overshadowed by the plus in benefits. Thats not the case anymore folks. There is no pay and no benefits, thanks to Gov Manchin.
Posted by: truth on Nov 20, 2008 at 05:13 AM
when you are paying over $500 a month already a 9% is to much!
Posted by: self employed on Nov 20, 2008 at 12:25 AM
Give me a break!! I say stop the whining and suck it up, alot of working people and self employed have NO INSURANCE and would be more than happy to pay a couple of dollars "co pay" good grief!
Posted by: Stop whining on Nov 19, 2008 at 11:26 PM
Stop whining, be thankful you have some sort of coverage.
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  • Posted By: to food for thought: i think you have solved the mystery on m.t.r.obama pay back of the unions.lets see if the so called news investigates this theory.but aren,t news media union too.wont hear any thing from them.left up to the peons and peasants to bring up truth ful news.
  • Posted By: Keith: Anon. it would seem Big Earl is sick of you too. And Food for Thought, great comment, Cecil Roberts is a joke and a sorry excuse for a labor leader he seems to as big a dunce as his buddy Obama. Look at the union under him and figure it out. So hows the hope and change working for everyone? Another half million jobs lost in June. Trace it back folks, the economy went belly up when it bacame apparent the democrat party was going to nominate a radical, ignorant, inexperienced marxist to their ticket. Economists tell us that full employment is considered at an unemployment rate of 4.7%, a year ago unemployment was at 5%. But you all know, Bush was soooo stupid. Look at how the war in Iraq turned out...ooops can't use that one, look at how great the economy is now...oops, can't use that one...well everybody hated us when Bush was in office and now everybody just loooves us and helps us out in the world, well, oops, look at N. Korea, Iran, can't use that one. Some of you really got fooled.
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  • Posted By: : RE: Worm in Water If you will Google "hair worm", you will be given millions of pages of information concerning the hair worm. There used to be a myth that a horse hair put in water would turn into a worm. From experience, it doesn't work.
  • Posted By: food for thought: WSAZ I ask of you please do a a follow up story of the 6 weeks of rain that we had so some of these people who have forgotten will have some miniscule sense of thereselves to know that ALL THAT RAIN would cause flooding anywhere. Here is another story. Find UMWA president MR. Roberts and ask him why he hasn't come out and had his brothers and sisters to be involved in keeping there MTR jobs.All these people that say Massey is a Union breaking company should be worried in salvaging the jobs they do have. It's not rocket science, UMWA supports Obama, in return Obama may reward them. This may be from left field but believe I am on to something. Isn't it strange the protesters only target Massey. Most of them are led to believe there are NO union jobs in WV. HOW STRANGE!? Here is the hunch I have WV politicians don't like Don B and the Union supports Obama. So sounds like a money trail to me for the hippies. Just a thought, but makes for good reporting. Big Earl lets make the idea reality!
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  • Posted By: : I for one am sick and tired of reading the same bs that big earl keeps spewing out. All you ever hear is peta, tree huggers, hippies. People who made a difference in this world and who are smart enough to care, should be honored instead of being bashed by some people who have the mentality of the monkeys who they believed they evolved from. also big earl keep on believing that your idol, who you worship and adore so much is smarter than a nasa scientist, apparently you haven't been around any smart people.
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  • Posted By: buck: why is it w/ summer sports it seems the parents make it all about them instead of the kids. am i wrong or do alot of these parents seem to want to relive life again through the kids. or even worse make a claim to being so good at whatever the sport the parent did that they push the kid all because of what they did 'or never did'. These parents also seem to be the really high ego type person. funny thing is if the parent was so good then why arent they pro or at least a great college player. what i have noticed is the the kids w/ the parent who did play college or was on the verge of being pro does not press the issue. they allow the kids to play ball. just my opinion
  • Posted By: Big Earl: Well hello again good working coal people of WV this is Big Earl and I hope everyone had a nice holiday wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a holiday or one of them permenant vacations from all the tree hugger types and hippies that are barging into our communities uninvited tying to run all our jobs off. Well good people I am calling on those who have the means to do so and you know who you are so lets pony up some cash and have our own protest here in the coal fields to support our coal miners. I seen on this very TV station where the tree huggers held a rally and a cookout with a bunch of Grateful Dead hippie wanttobees singing about the trees and polar bears but we can do one better. We can have it down at the coal festival in Madison people I say invite some real singers who aint got above there raisin like WV adopted son Mr. Charlie Daniels and how about Alabama since they have coal down there to. Invite Gov. Joe and them people from Washington DC that is a good way to find out who is pretending to be a friend of coal and who is really on our side. We could even make Mother Jones bobblehead dolls to give away I for one would like to see her set loose on these tree huggers that have invaded Cabin Creek trying to run off her beloved coal miners. You could pull a string and she would say #** !!##**!! Tree huggers.
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