By Ala board raises premiums for health care coverage
Montgomery, AL – MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The amount that Alabama's education
employees pay for their own health insurance is going up for the
first time in 27 years.
The board of the Public Education Employees Health Insurance
Program voted Thursday to raise the monthly premium for individual
coverage from $2 to $15 starting October 1. The $2 rate has been in
effect since the program began in 1983.
Dependent coverage will increase from $132 monthly to $162.
The co-payments for prescriptions and doctors visits are also
increasing. The new rates are similar to what Alabama's state
employees pay.
The board chairman, Alabama Education Association executive
secretary Paul Hubbert, said the increases were necessary because
of state budget constraints, but education employees still have a
great plan when compared to other states.