Some health plan premiums are increasing significantly in 2015, but Kaiser rates are going down slightly; Negotiations for raising the medical cap are about to start

Depending on which health plan you are covered by, full-time faculty members’ 2015 medical premiums may increase by almost 24%, decrease slightly or something in between. About 44% of full-timers—those who are covered by the Kaiser plan—will see their premiums decrease by 3.8%. On average, however, the medical plan premiums will increase by 7.78%, with the largest increase being 23.66% for the Blue Shield NetValue plan. A comparison of the 2014 and 2015 rates for all of the available plans is shown below, with the number of faculty currently covered by each plan also included.
The AFT and the District are about to start negotiating on an increase to the cap on the District’s contribution to the medical premiums.  Reportedly, the District is initially proposing an increase of $35/$45/$55 for single/2-party/family to one of the other bargaining units. The Open Enrollment period started September 15 and ends October 10, so it is hoped that the parties can come to an agreement relatively soon.