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About 350,000 state and school employees and retirees will be hit with about a 10 percent increase in their health insurance premiums on Jan. 1, Department of Community Health officials said Thursday.
The increase comes after a year of no premium rate hikes. In 2006, when Gov. Sonny Perdue and the General Assembly faced re-election, they put extra money in budget for fiscal 2007 so state employees and teachers wouldn't have to pay higher premiums for their health care.
However, that didn't happen this year.
The increase was built into the budget for fiscal 2008, which began July 1. But Bill Tomlinson, a retired state budget director who helps run a state retirees group, said the increase was barely mentioned when lawmakers discussed the state budget during the 2007 session.
"I don't think the average teacher or state employees knows about it," he said. "This was hidden,"
Tomlinson said the increase will cost him about $25 more per month.
"If you're a [school] bus driver out there and you're making $1,000 a month before taxes, that's a big bite," he added.
Including the dependents of state and public school employees and retirees, the state plan provides health coverage for more than 600,000 Georgians. Double-digit premium hikes have been relatively common in recent years, eating into the minimal raises many workers have received. Employees got 3 percent raises this year.
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