CalPERS Accepts Average Rate Hike Of Nearly 10%

MANAGED CARE June 1999. ©1999 Stezzi Communications

In the perhaps biggest sign yet that premiums are poised to soar, the California Public Employees' Retirement System has granted the health plans it contracts with an average 9.7-percent rate hike for next year. It's the highest increase since CalPERS accepted a 12-percent boost in '92. CalPERS is the nation's second-largest health care purchaser.

Kaiser Permanente, CalPERS's biggest contractor, got an 11.7-percent hike. Kaiser and CalPERS engaged in a public showdown last year, when the HMO asked for a 12-percent boost. It finally settled for 10.75 percent.