Senate panel debates shifting PERS health plan from 'grandfathered' to ACA-compliant model

Senate Appropriations — Human Resources Division members spent the hearing examining Senate Bill 2160, which would shift the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) state employee health plan out of its grandfathered status and into a non‑grandfathered, Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliant plan, producing new benefits for members and a multi‑million dollar fiscal impact.

The bill’s sponsor, identified in the transcript as Senator Davidson, told the committee the core objective is “to get our insurance to a non grandfathered clause” and described the change as a one‑time decision that “you obviously can't go back to grandfathered.”

Rebecca Fricke, executive director of the Public Employees Retirement System, told the committee the measure would apply to the state employee plan and a small population of pre‑Medicare retirees and former legislators who remain on the plan. “The benefits under a non grandfathered plan from a consumer standpoint are enhancements to coverage,” Fricke said, and listed examples the…