MARCH 4, 2021: Group Insurance Commission Announces Fiscal Year 2022 Plan Rates: The Group Insurance Commission held their monthly meeting to set the premium rates for FY22 ahead of the open enrollment process. As we were anticipating from previous meetings the Commission voted on a 5.2% average increase across all plans, non-Medicare and Medicare plans. Overall, the average increase for the six Medicare plans is 2.3%. The most popular plan, the UniCare OME plan, has an increase, 2.2%, which equates to a total $8.94 increase for FY22.
MARCH 4, 2021: Group Insurance Commission Announces Fiscal Year 2022 Plan Rates: The Group Insurance Commission held their monthly meeting to set the premium rates for FY22 ahead of the open enrollment process. As we were anticipating from previous meetings the Commission voted on a 5.2% average increase across all plans, non-Medicare and Medicare plans. Overall, the average increase for the six Medicare plans is 2.3%. The most popular plan, the UniCare OME plan, has an increase, 2.2%, which equates to a total $8.94 increase for FY22. Individual rates will depend on a members premium split.
State retirees have three premium splits, depending upon the date of retirement: 90/10, 85/15 and 80/20. Active state employees contribute at 80/20 or 75/25, depending on the date of hire.
Rates for municipal retirees and active employees are set by the cities and towns. Teachers, participating in the Retired Municipal Teacher (RMT) program contribute at a set rate of 85/15.
Today’s meeting was the culmination of months long discussions regarding the plans and costs for FY22 and the news remains positive. Members in the UniCare OME plan will see a modest increase in premium along with no changes to the out-of-pocket costs for the upcoming year is welcome news in light of the economic uncertainty we thought we would be facing due to the pandemic.
On the non-Medicare side, the overall average increase across the plans is 5.8%. The broad network plans range from 3.2% to 8.4%. The most popular plan in that category, the Tufts Navigator will see a 4.7% for the individual plan and 4.8% for the family. UniCare, the only national plan, has an increase of 3.5% for FY22. These plans will also have no increase in the out-of-pocket costs as well. While the news that there will be no additional cost shifting to members for the next fiscal year, we remain concerned about the impact to those members who are not Medicare eligible and enrolled in an active plan. We continue to work with the GIC to seek solutions for these members.
“Just a few months ago we were concerned about the potential for cost increases. Thankfully, our concerns did not materialize, and the overall cost of insurance remains stable,” states Mass Retirees Legislative Liaison, who is the Association’s point person with the GIC. “As we have previously reported, copayments and deductibles will remain unchanged. While we would like to see no increase in premium costs, the modest increases announced today by the GIC were in-line with what we anticipated.
“While the prices do vary depending on the specific insurance plan, the vast majority of retirees are insured under the UniCare OME plan which has among the smallest increases at 2.2%. This is indeed good news for our retirees and, once again, demonstrates the benefit of being enrolled in Medicare.”
Mass Retirees has filed legislation, sponsored by House Republican Leader Brad Jones, that would transition the GIC’s non-Medicare eligible retirees into the Medicare program. If passed into law, this proposal would take affect for Fiscal Year 2023.