PEIA to hold last of 4 public hearings on health insurance changes at UC

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The University of Charleston will be the site for the last of four public hearings the state Public Employees Insurance Agency’s Finance Board has been hosting across the state in connection with proposed benefit reductions for state workers and retirees.

The final meeting in the series is Thursday at 6 p.m.

Hearings were held in Martinsburg, Morgantown and Wheeling this week.

The program needs to come up about $55 million. The PEIA Finance Board is proposing that at least $25 million come from active employees and $15 million from retirees.

There’s been concerns from state workers on rising health insurance costs, according to PEIA Director Ted Cheatham.

Cheatham previously said he isn’t ruling out the possibility that Governor-Elect Jim Justice and the new state Legislature could come up with some funding options for PEIA before the new plan takes effect in July 2017.