State employees will see a roughly 8% increase in their health care insurance rates this year.
IDAHO, USA — Health insurance premiums for more than 100,000 Idaho state employees will increase by 8% this year, the Department of Administration said. Rising healthcare and prescription drug costs are to blame.
The rate hike comes after premiums remained stable last year, making this year's increase particularly notable.
"Everyone is fully aware that expenses are going up just about everywhere. Health expenses are included in that," said Steven Bailey, the director of the Department of Administration. "It's a very complex industry, very complex issue. Costs are coming from every direction."
GLP-1 drugs, commonly known as weight loss medications, represent one of the most significant unexpected expenses driving the increase.
"The usage of those has skyrocketed, and it's very expensive, very expensive medication, and so we are covering those for our state employees," Bailey said. "The fact of the matter is, we've been a little bit underfunded because of some unexpected expenses, like GLP-1s, pharmacy meds."
The department provides medical, dental and vision insurance coverage for state employees, but had not anticipated the surge in demand for weight loss drugs when budgeting for healthcare costs.
Premium increases vary by plan type. Employees enrolled in the common PPO plan will see a monthly increase of $16, while those with high-deductible plans will face a monthly increase of $4. Traditional plan participants will pay $50 more per month.
Despite the increases, Bailey emphasized the department's commitment to keeping costs as low as possible.
"We know it's very important that people have health care, and that's why we think it's very important that we make sure and keep the cost down as low as possible," Bailey said.
The Department of Administration is exploring options to introduce more affordable plan alternatives and continues negotiations with healthcare providers to maintain reasonable costs for essential services.
"There's not a day that goes by that the Office of Group Insurance isn't doing everything they can to lower costs," Bailey said.
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