Government, News

PEIA public outreach meetings scheduled throughout the state

CHARLESTON — More public hearings are ahead for the task force trying to balance the revenue and costs for the Public Employees Insurance Agency.

Meetings were held Friday and Saturday in Springfield, Marlinton, Moorefield and Franklin.
Beckley, Princeton and Lewisburg are the next stops for the public outreach subcommittee of the PEIA Task Force.
The only meeting set for Morgantown is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. June 8 at WVU. The exact location has not yet been released.

Members of the task force will visit the Tamarack Conference Center, Princeton Middle School and Lewisburg Elementary School. All sessions begin at 6:30 p.m May 24.

These are part of 21 public outreach meetings being held across the state, with the goal of allowing West Virginians to discuss their experiences with the Public Employees Insurance Agency and suggest ways to improve it.

The public outreach subcommittee will relay the feedback received at these meetings to the larger task force, which Gov. Jim Justice established to find a long-term solution to the issues facing PEIA.

There is also a Coverage and Plan Subcommittee Meeting at 2 p.m. May 23 at the state Capitol.
The Revenue and Cost Subcommittee took an initial dive into the complex balancing act of insurance for West Virginia state employees.

“Our task is to come up with options for developing revenue and identifying costs. It’s a chicken/egg,” said Joe Letnaunchyn, who led Tuesday afternoon’s meeting. Letnaunchyn is president and chief executive officer of the West Virginia Hospital Association.

Coverage and Plan Subcommittee has overlap with this one. Whatever that committee recommends to be covered, this committee will have to recommend how to pay.

“Once we get that model, I believe our responsibility is to come up with the revenue design to support it — but also look at reducing costs that you could do regardless of what the plan looks like,” Letnaunchyn said.

Those who wish to submit feedback online can do so at peiataskforce.wv.gov. Those who wish to receive updates on social media can follow the WV PEIA Task Force Facebook page and @WVPEIATaskForce Twitter account.