City of San Diego retirees will note fiscal year 2014 health insurance rates are in effect and reflected on pension checks issued July 31, 2013. The new rates reduced the net pay amount for some retirees who selected a Health Net plan.
How is the annual health care premium allotment for health eligible retirees determined?
The annual allotment for health eligible retirees is dictated in the
Municipal Code, Chapter 2, Article 4: City Employees’ Retirement System, Division 12: Retiree Health Benefits for Employees Who Retire Before April 1, 2012, which reads in part:
§24.1202 (a)(2) After fiscal year 2003, the maximum payment or reimbursement level for health eligible retirees will be adjusted annually based upon the projected increase for National Health Expenditures by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, for the full-year period ending January 1 before each plan year. No adjustment may exceed 10 percent for any plan year. The City will notify the Retirement System in writing of the amount of the adjustment at least 60 days before the beginning of each plan years.
Pursuant to the Municipal Code, the City of San Diego notified SDCERS that this year’s allotment for non-medicare retirees retired between Oct. 6, 1980 and June 30, 2009 is $931.24 per month. The City also notified SDCERS that Health Net and Kaiser health plans would continue to be offered. The Kaiser HMO Non-Medicare Plan cost is $791.58 per month (subscriber-only). The Health Net HMO Non-Medicare Plan cost is $959.88 per month (subscriber-only). This monthly amount is $28.64 more than the allotment. For those who choose this option, that amount is deducted from the monthly retirement benefit check.
For additional information, please see
Ordinance O-19874 which modified this Municipal Code section in June 2009, as included in the Municipal Code language above.