Senate Bill 2623: State Health Insurance Task Force

February 7, 2023March 14, 2023 Bill Tracker

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On March 10, the Governor signed SB 2623 into law. It will take effect on July 1, 2023. The task force will be required to convene within 60 days of this date.

Explanation of the Bill

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Senate Bill 2623 would create the Mississippi State and School Employees’ Life and Health Insurance Plan Task Force to study and make recommendations on the State Health Plan offered to teachers and other state employees.

Under SB 2623, the task force would be composed of the Chairs of the Senate and House Education Committees, the Chairs of the Senate and House Insurance Committees, the Commissioner of Insurance (or their designee), the Administrator of the State Health Plan (or their designee), the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration, an actuary appointed by the Governor, a public school teacher appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and a retired state employee appointed by the Speaker of the House.

Among other aspects of the State Health Plan, the task force would be responsible for studying and making recommendations on “the plan for rate increases in the future, including the impact to employees and their families.” This is almost certainly in response to growing concerns over the cost of insuring children and spouses on the State Health Plan. The monthly premium contributions required to provide coverage for a spouse and at least one child is now $840, or $10,080 a year. Sky-high premiums for the State Health Plan combined with cuts to coverage may help explain why 42.4% of teachers in the 2022 Mississippi Teacher Survey reported being unable to afford “health insurance premiums and deductibles, plus necessary healthcare costs not covered by insurance, for all members of my household.”

Compared to employees in every other southeastern state, teachers in Mississippi pay the highest premiums for family coverage while receiving the weakest coverage. Teachers in Florida, for example, pay $660 less in monthly premiums for family coverage but receive coverage that is worth over $500 a month more than in Mississippi. Unfortunately for Mississippi teachers, the State and School Employees’ Health Insurance Plan is projected to increase premium rates even further in coming years while continuing to decrease benefits.

House Bill 1180 was filed to address the issue of increasing premium contributions and would have cut premium contributions for eligible dependents by 50%—a change which would have saved teachers and other state employees with families an average of $2,341 a year. The House Insurance Committee failed to bring HB 1180 up for a vote, and the bill died in committee.