The California Public Employees’ Retirement System--which manages health insurance for 1.2 million California public employees, dependents, and retirees--has proposed higher copays for those who seek care at hospitals and emergency departments, reports the Los Angeles Times. Known for its generous health benefits, CalPERS is under pressure by the state to bring down premium costs, which ran $4.3 billion this year. Among the proposals on the table, in hopes of steering people to less expensive treatment, are making copays for hospital treatment much larger than copays for ambulatory surgery centers ($250 versus $25, respectively) and increasing emergency department copays from $50 to $75, compared with $25 for urgent care centers. Another proposal is to create a new PPO with a greatly restricted number of physicians for a 7.5% premium savings. If all the changes are approved by CalPERS's 13-member board on Wednesday, CalPERS would realize a $120 million savings in premiums. The public employee’s unions strongly oppose the cost-shifting, and CalPERS's board chairman said he would likely oppose the higher copays this year, but that changes will soon have to be made in the health benefits.
