Pa. State System of Higher Education announces changes in employee insurance that could save $3.5 million

The State System of Higher Education on Monday announced modifications to its employee health insurance that leaders predict will save $3.5 million each year at a time when system finances are under stress.

The changes apply to about 1,800 workers, or 15 percent, of employees across the system’s 14 state-owned universities, including managers and administrators, university health center nurses, and campus police officers and security guards, officials said. The changes become effective Jan. 1.

Based on their level of coverage, workers will be required to contribute $3 to $14 more each pay period toward their insurance. Other modifications, including a $250 deductible — with a $500-a-year per family limit — for certain medical services will apply based on plan usage, officials said.

Officials said the revisions, developed over the last year, bring insurance coverage for those employees closer in line with what is offered at other colleges and universities in the state. It also provides additional cushion for the system’s increasingly stretched finances.

The 107,000-student system has been dealing with budget cuts and the loss of nearly 13,000 students since 2010.

“Changes such as these, along with potential pension reforms that the Commonwealth is considering, can generate essential cost savings in order to help keep tuition affordable,” State System chancellor Frank Brogan said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Source: Post-Gazette