HB 3075 Doubles health coverage for PEBB & OEBB employees

This bill permits an eligible public employee enrolled in health coverage through Public Employees’ Benefit Board (PEBB) or Oregon Educators Benefit Board (OEBB) with a spouse or family member also enrolled in a health plan offered by PEBB or OEBB to receive double coverage.

Fiscal Responsibility
Public employees double coverage has an impact of $34.5 million.

Limited Government
According to the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO), a legislative work group was convened during the 2017 session to examine potential cost reduction and prevention options to help reduce cost increases in future budgets. The work group was also directed to institute prudent financial practices and principles for state government. The result of the work group was SB 1067 (2017), required PEBB and OEBB to adopt methodologies to limit growth in premium or per-member health plan costs to 3.4% per year and eliminated “double coverage” for PEBB and OEBB employees who have family members also employed by a PEBB or OEBB employer beginning with plan years after October 1, 2019 (OEBB) and January 1, 2020 (PEBB). SB 1067 also discontinued the ability for a PEBB or OEBB employee with double coverage to decline double coverage or “opt out” and thus receive payments. These changes were estimated to reduce future health care costs in PEBB and OEBB and result in General Fund savings in the 2017-19 and 2019-21 biennia (LFO 2017). HB 3075 restores the ability for employees and their family members and dependents in state-sponsored health plans, if eligible, to receive “double insurance coverage” or “opt-out” financial incentives.