Press Releases
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Oklahoma State & Education News Release: December 16, 2012 |
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OKLAHOMA CITY--The Oklahoma State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board (OSEEGIB) on Friday adopted new pharmacy benefits based on an agreement with Pharmacy Providers of Oklahoma (PPOk) that will reduce prescription drug costs for HealthChoice members.
The new plan also will mean additional savings for the state. It addresses concerns expressed by plan members and the pharmacy community. The new pharmacy benefits, which are the result of several months of negotiations between OSEEGIB and PPOk, are estimated to save approximately $33 million in the first year alone.
Most of the savings will be realized by plan members in the form of lower out-of-pocket costs when purchasing prescriptions. More than 34,000 Medicare supplement plan members, who were not impacted by the original plan design adopted last August, will also save money when purchasing prescriptions.
Members can fill prescriptions for up to a 90-day supply at all HealthChoice Network Pharmacies at the same cost. This includes local independent pharmacies and national chain pharmacies. Members also have the option to use mail service.
OSEEGIB administrator Frank Wilson commented, “The process has not been easy but the end result will benefit plan members, state agencies, school districts, and hundreds of local government employers in the form of lower premiums and copays for prescription drugs.
OSEEGIB is a division of the Office of State Finance and is responsible for administering health benefits for approximately 163,000 state, education, and local government employees, retirees, and their dependents.
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| Oklahoma State & Education Employees Group Insurance Board News Release: August 19, 2011 |
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OSEEGIB Adopts Rates for 2012
Plan Reserves Used to Stabilize Premiums and Limit Increases
The Oklahoma State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board (OSEEGIB) has adopted premium rates for its HealthChoice health, dental, life, and disability insurance plans. The Board action took place at its August 19 meeting and will be effective for the 2012 Plan Year.
The adopted premiums for the High Option health plan represent an overall decrease of .4% over current rates. For 2012, the Board voted to use $39 million in reserve dollars that are available as a result of lower than expected claims costs over the past two years. The use of reserve dollars will off-set the projected 5% increase in claim cost that was announced during the July meeting. The most significant premium savings were seen in the spouse rate which experienced a 2% decrease. Also, for the 2012 Plan Year, HealthChoice health plans will be adopting additional screening, prevention, and treatment services that will be available with no cost sharing to members.
Board Chairman Richard Womack said, “Although health care costs continue to increase, the Board is pleased that reserve dollars were sufficient to help stabilize premiums. While we were able to eliminate and minimize increases for 2012, the Board’s consulting actuary projected a 5% increase in total plan costs. We need to be mindful that we are not immune from these cost increases and plan reserves may not always be available to off-set premiums,” he said. “Both the projected increase for 2012, along with any projected increases for 2013, based on the upward trend in healthcare costs, will be factors in setting premiums for the 2013 Plan Year,” Mr. Womack added.
“In the past five years, premiums for the HealthChoice plans have increased an average of 4.5% which is about half of the national average of approximately 10%,” stated Frank Wilson, plan administrator. Additionally, Mr. Wilson said, “As a self-funded plan, HealthChoice rates are a direct reflection of plan claims costs with more than 95% of all premium dollars paid out in member claims.”
In addition to using plan reserves to off-set premiums, the Board approved other plan changes designed to reduce plan costs. Beginning January 1, HealthChoice plans will make a mail-order pharmacy program for maintenance medications available to all pre-Medicare members. Maintenance medications are prescriptions that are usually taken on a daily basis and include drugs used to treat high-blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart conditions, etc. By adopting a mail-order pharmacy program, it is estimated the plan will save about $9 million in prescription drug costs.
Another significant change for 2012 is the introduction of two new plans, the HealthChoice High Alternative and HealthChoice Basic Alternative. These new plans are specifically designed for members and their dependents that use tobacco. Mr. Wilson stated, “Health conditions related to the use of tobacco cost the HealthChoice plans and our members approximately $52 million annually. While the premiums for the new alternative plans will be the same as our standard High Option and Basic plans, the annual deductibles and out-of-pocket limits will each increase by $250,” he said.
After applying the premium subsidy, HealthChoice Basic Plan rates for 2012 will experience an average overall premium decrease of about 1%.
Premiums for the HealthChoice Medicare Supplement Plans With Part D were projected to increase by nearly 14%; however, after applying the premium subsidy, the increase was capped at about 8%. Similarly, the premiums for the Medicare supplement plans without Part D were projected to increase by approximately 11%; but with the application of the premium subsidy, the premium increase was limited to around 5.6%.
2012 premiums for the HealthChoice Dental Plan will increase by just more than 1%, while premiums for the HealthChoice Disability Plan will remain unchanged. Premiums for the HealthChoice Life Insurance Plan will decrease slightly.
The 2012 premium rates were calculated by the Board’s actuary, AON Hewitt, based on actual HealthChoice claims experience data for the past 24 months.
OSEEGIB provides health, dental, life, and disability insurance to governmental and education employees, retirees, and dependents.
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Last Modified on 12/16/2011