Employees, Retirees Speak Out About Proposed Insurance Cuts

By Phil Kabler State employees and retirees vented their displeasure with the Public Employees Insurance Agency's proposal to cut their health insurance benefits by a total of $40 million during a public hearing Thursday evening at the Charleston Civic Center."It is similar to asking us if we want to be in a head-on collision, or get T-boned on the highway," Joe White, with the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association, said of asking employees which benefit cuts they prefer.In a theme common among nearly 30 speakers Thursday, White said public employees cannot afford higher co-pays, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses, as proposed by PEIA."We need to reach out to the new Legislature to request additional funding," he said, calling on PEIA Finance Board members who attended the hearing, "Let us go together and ask for the proper funding."The hearing, the last of six held around the state over the past two weeks, gave PEIA insurees the opportunity to speak out on a menu of options proposed by the PEIA Finance Board to cut the agency's health insurance costs by $40 million next year.Department of Administration spokeswoman Diane Holley-Brown said the previous hearings, in Beckley, Huntington, Martinsburg, Morgantown and Wheeling, each drew an average of between 100 to 150 people.Thursday's attendance was comparatively sparse, with about 100 people in the center's Little Theater.Christine Stephens told board members she struggles now to get by on disability retirement, often going to Mountain Mission to get enough food to get through each month, and cannot afford higher co-pays and deductibles."What am I supposed to use to eat?