AL teachers about to be hit with health insurance cost increase

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Alabama teachers and their families will soon pay more for health insurance. The Public Education Employee Health Insurance Plan, or PEEHIP, board voted Thursday to make the changes as it works to fill a $139 million gap in funding.

Next year, co-pays for visits to a specialist will go up $5 to $35 per visit. The family dental premium will increase to $50 per month.

The PEEHIP board also added a $25 per month surcharge for spouses. That will jump to $75 over the next three years.

And the board looked at a tobacco premium that moves from $28 per month to $50.

"I understand that these people are strapped for income," said Don Yancy, Deputy Director for the Retirement Systems of Alabama. "They're not getting raises. They're paying more for retirement than they used to. Everything is going up."

"The cost is going up and their income has been level, so I understand their hesitation to want to pay more for their health insurance," Yancy continued. "Bottom line is they have a really, really good health insurance plan at a very reasonable out of pocket cost."

In PEEHIP's 32-year history there have been only two across-the-board rate increases.

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