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Senate adopts amendment letting large higher-education groups join PEHP with individual rating
Summary
The Senate adopted an amendment to House Bill 215 allowing higher-education institutions (groups of 1,000+ employees) to join the Public Employees Health Program if individually rated and their claims experience is favorable; sponsors said the change prevents adverse fiscal impact on the pool.
Senate floor discussion of House Bill 215 produced an amendment clarifying how the Public Employees Health Program (PEHP) may include higher-education groups.
Sponsor Senator Lisonbee explained that the amendment permits a large higher-education institution (the example given was Weber State) with more than 1,000 covered lives to be individually rated on historical claims experience before being allowed into the statewide PEHP pool. If the group's rated rate exceeds current PEHP rates, that group must remain in a separate risk pool rather than joining the state's pooled plan. The sponsor said this approach protects existing PEHP participants from unintended rate increases while allowing cost-saving groups to opt into the pool.
Senator Hojert (floor question) asked whether bringing such groups in could increase PEHP rates and thereby the state's contribution. The sponsor said the amendment addresses that concern by requiring individual rating and by keeping groups with higher rates in separate pools. The amendment carried and, subsequently, the bill passed third reading on a 28-0-1 roll-call vote.
The bill's operational details require PEHP actuarial review and administrative rule-making to implement individual rating for qualifying higher-education groups and to report any fiscal effects as required by state budgeting processes.
