Aug. 2, 2003 – Government employees will see a dip in their Aug. 7 paychecks when increased health insurance deductions kick in, said Joanne U. Barry, director of the V.I. government Personnel Division, in a release issued Friday.
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull had proposed a 60-40 government/employee percentage cut in his initial proposal, but the Senate, in a June 17 session, lowered the ratio to 65-35. That ratio, Senate President David Jones said at the time, would "ease the burden on the General Fund, and not overly burden the employees." The ratio had been 73-27. Turnbull signed the measure into law July 14.
Appearing before the Senate Finance Committee budget hearings in July, Paulette Rabsatt, representing the Government Employees Service Commission Health Insurance Board, said the health insurance covers more than 20,000 employees, dependents and retirees. (See "Inspector General makes familiar requests".)
Barry said the increase in the deductions for retirees will be coordinated with the Government Employees Retirement System. She said retirees will be notified in advance of the effective date of this change. For additional information, Barry said to call the division's health insurance representative at 774-8588 on St. Thomas, or 773-0341 on St. Croix.
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