Eyes popped last week when the California Public Employees’ Retirement Systemapproved a average HMO premium hike of 7.21 percent in 2016 — but the news is worse for public agency workers in the Sacramento area.
People who work for cities, counties, school districts and other public agencies in the four-county Sacramento region face an average HMO premium increase next year of 12.2 percent. Amounts vary by health plan from a low of 5.17 percent for Kaiser Permanente to 18.76 percent for the Blue Shield NetValue plan. Anthem Blue Cross charges more here than in any other region, including the Bay Area.
CalPERS negotiates one statewide rate for state workers, but public agency rates are negotiated by region. The rating system was launched a decade ago to accommodate public agencies in Southern California that complained about sharing the burden of higher health-care costs in Northern California.
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