West Virginia state and county employees would pay more for their health care next fiscal year under a proposal presented Thursday to the Public Employees Insurance Agency finance board.
The agency is proposing increasing premiums by 14% for state employees and by 16% for local government employees during the 2026 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2026.
The agency also proposed a 12% increase in premiums for retirees.
Both state and county employees would see an increase of 40% in their out-of-pocket maximum as well as increase in co-pays. A monthly spousal surcharge for state employees would more than double, from $147 to $350.
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Altogether, the increases are projected to equal roughly $113 million. Speaking to the board about the reasons for the cost increases, PEIA director Brian Cunningham pointed to inflation of prescription drug costs as well as increases in their use.
Cunningham told the board there’s “no single fix,” to PEIA’s problem with rising costs.
“PEIA has a multifaceted problem, we’ve seen growth in expense, or growth in the cost of reimbursement to providers,” Cunningham said. “We see substantial growth in cost of prescription drugs. So what we as a team here at PEIA are seeking to do with the support of the board is to take a multi faceted approach to the fix.”
That includes strategies to encourage members to use lower-cost generic drugs, he said. Cunningham said a number of other initiatives to tackle rising costs are in the works.
In addition to prescription drug inflation, Cunningham also pointed to recent legislation. Senate Bill 268, which passed during the 2022 legislative session, resulted around $70 million increase in pay to health care providers and mandated that a spousal surcharge be the actuarial value of covering the spouse. The surcharge is for members whose spouses are offered employer-sponsored insurance coverage but choose to get coverage through a plan offered by PEIA.
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The bill also increased premium rates to get back to an 80/20 employer/employee premium split.
Speaking before the finance board meeting Thursday, Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association teachers union, called the proposed premium increases “unacceptable.”
“The employees: our educators, our teachers, our service professionals, our state workers, state police and everybody else who can make so much more money crossing the state line and driving 30 more minutes, that’s exactly what we’re going to see happen, particularly in these border counties,” Lee said. “We’re struggling to get educators in our school system right now…You put a 40% increase in cost shift to them. They can’t take that. We can’t take that.”
Fred Albert, president of the American Federation of Teachers West Virginia, said the proposed premium increases are unfair to state employees, some of whom are not paid what they deserve.
“You’ve heard this many, many, many, many times before, the PEIA benefits were given over the years in lieu of a pay raise,” Albert said. “And while we have had some pay raises here in the last five years, it’s just not enough to make a difference when you’re now paying higher premiums, higher co-pays, and you will be paying even more. Then your take home is not increasing, so you’re not realizing and paying increase.”
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“I get tired of hearing people say, ‘Well, you didn’t go into teaching to get rich,’” Albert said. “No, maybe not, not in money. You get rich in other ways. But we didn’t go into it to be poor, either. We need to be able to raise a family, live a comfortable life and retire with dignity. But this is going to be devastating.”
The PEIA finance board is planning public hearings around the state next month to hear from participants about the proposal. The meetings are planned for 6 p.m. at the following locations. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 7 at the Beckley-Raleigh Convention Center, 200 Armory Drive, Beckley
Nov. 12 at the Holiday Inn Martinsburg, 301 Foxcroft Avenue, Martinsburg
Nov. 14 at the The Highlands Event Center, 355 Wharton Circle, Suite 253, Triadelphia
Nov. 18 Virtually by computer or smartphone at this link. People can also join the virtual meeting by phone by calling 1-413-350-0825 with the PIN 426 346 783#.
Nov. 19 at The Erickson Alumni Center in Morgantown, and
Nov. 21 at the Culture Center, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, Charleston
The board is expected to vote on the proposed increases at its Dec. 5 meeting.
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – West Virginia lawmakers continued working as the Saturday midnight deadline approaches.
Senate Action
The Senate passed 12 bills, including one requiring adult content websites to use age verification to block minors. Senators also passed a bill creating a Cold Case Task Force.
House Bill 49-90, targeting gift card crimes, and House Bill 54-37, the Vape Safety Act, also passed unanimously. All four bills now go to the House for concurrence.
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Delegates passed Alyssa’s Law, allowing teachers to wear mobile alert buttons that notify 9-1-1 and trigger a school lockdown in emergencies. The bill is named after a victim of the 2018 Parkland shooting.
Bill 4005, which clarifies jobs prohibited for workers under 16 — including bar work and logging — also passed. Both bills now head to Governor Patrick Morrisey’s desk.
Senate Bill 4 would require bystanders to stay at least 30 feet from first responders.
Senate Bill 75 would allow West Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with officers in bordering states. A bill from the Education Committee would allow teachers with at least 15 years of experience to become certified as school principals.
For more legislative coverage, go to our website at wdtv.com.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
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The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
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Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
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Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
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West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
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Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
