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Bill to raise HRA cap for state retirees advances with unresolved fiscal questions
Summary
Assembly Bill 188 would require a report on Medicare retiree costs, raise the health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) cap from $8,000 to $15,600, and allow retirees to re-enroll multiple times; sponsors said the bill carries a partial fiscal note for staffing and the cap increase remains “cannot be determined.”
Assemblyman Max Carter (Assembly District 12) presented Assembly Bill 188 to the Senate Finance Committee, describing three principal changes: a PEBB report on costs faced by Medicare retirees; an increase in the HRA cap from $8,000 to $15,600 (calculated as a maximum over five years at current contribution levels); and a change allowing retirees to come on and off the PEBB retiree plan multiple times with proof of coverage.
Carter said the bill includes an interim study (section 4.5) and that after amendments the bill carries a $214,000 fiscal note for the 2025–27 biennium (for two positions to produce the report), with an ongoing fiscal exposure of $614,000 in a later biennium. He and other witnesses said PEBB discussed staffing and capacity; PEBB suggested half a position might be sufficient but the health authority reported no spare staffing capacity.
Committee members asked how many retirees use HRA accounts; Carter said he would obtain exact counts but noted about 91 percent of participants use their accounts and many wait until year end to claim reimbursements. Witnesses in support included AFSCME Retirees, Nevada Technical Alliance and the Professional Firefighters of Nevada.
The sponsor and nonpartisan staff described the cap increase as creating a “cannot be determined” fiscal note because reserves would need to be increased to meet an 80% reserve requirement for HRA accounts. No committee vote was recorded in the transcript.
