Health insurance costs will increase this year for University of Georgia faculty and staff, after a unanimous vote by the Board of Regents in August.
Insurance premiums will increase by an estimated 5.2 percent for employees covered under Blue Cross Blue Shield and 8.1 percent for those covered under Kaiser.
The premium increase was introduced to keep up with inflated healthcare costs. The state healthcare inflation rate was a little more than 6 percent in 2010-11 and 8 percent the previous year, while the premium increase was about 10 percent in 2010 and 9 percent in 2011.
Rising costs for faculty will mean a smaller effect on the state treasury — less money will come out of taxes or a tuition increase, said risk management and insurance professor James Hilliard.
“Employees will be paying more for health insurance but not getting a salary increase,” Hilliard said.
The vote also increased the number of hours necessary for employee health coverage from a 20- to 30-hour work week. About 700 employees state-wide will lose their insurance coverage.
Read the full story at the Red & Black.
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