LITTLE ROCK (KFSM) – The Employee Benefits Division of the Arkansas Department of Education decided on new insurance rates on Tuesday (July 30), officials say.
Insurance rates for some public school employees will go up, while rates and benefits for others will go down, according to officials.
Employees enrolled in the gold plan will now pay less per month in the new premium plan, while those in the silver plan will pay slightly more if they stay in the premium plan, officials said.
Similar to the current silver plan, the premium plan will have a deductible of $1,000 for individual coverage or $2,000 for family coverage. The gold plan does not have a deductible, according to officials.
The deductible for the premium plan will not apply to benefits that are subject to co-payments, and those co-payments will be lower under the premium plan than under the gold and silver plans, officials said.
Co-payments for a primary care doctor’s office visit will drop from $35 to $25, and the co-payment for a specialist visit will drop from $70 to $50, according to officials.
Those currently covered by the gold plan will pay a maximum of $249.38 per month for individual coverage or $1,132.96 per month for family coverage, officials said.
Those currently covered by the silver plan will pay up to $173.32 for individual coverage or $787.36 for family coverage, according to officials.
Rates for the bronze plan, which will be renamed the classic plan, will go up, officials said.
Employees under the bronze plan will pay up to $45 a month for individual coverage and $350.36 a month for family coverage, according to officials.
The deductible for the classic plan will remain the same, $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for family coverage, officials said.
School employees will also get access to a new plan option, the basic plan. The rate for the basic plan will be the same as the current bronze plan, but it will have a higher deductible at $4,250 for individuals and $8,500 for families, according to officials.