Archive for year: 2024

The 2025 premium rates for the WELS VEBA Group Health Care Plan are now available. To find the 2025 premium rates for the plan options available in your area, visit the 2025 health rates page.

The 2025 rates will increase by 7% for all plan options due primarily to continued cost inflation (i.e., “trend”) for health care services and prescription drugs. In addition, the geographic rate regions and regional rating factors will change for all areas beginning in 2025. This means that the total 2025 health rate change for each sponsoring organization will be a combination of the 7% trend increase and the organization’s new regional rating factor. The total 2025 health rate change will therefore vary by organization and range from a 0.7% decrease to an 18.9% increase.

The WELS VEBA Commission approved the new rate regions and rating factors so that WELS VEBA rates will better reflect current health care costs across the country. The health care industry has changed significantly since the current WELS VEBA rate regions were developed approximately 15 years ago, and improved data has allowed the WELS VEBA actuaries to better assess the relative differences in health care costs across local markets. The new regional rating factors will be implemented over three years (2025 through 2027) to spread out the financial impacts to sponsoring organizations. Due to this three-year transition period, please note that the regional rating factor change that will apply to each sponsoring organization’s rates for 2025 will also apply to that sponsoring organization’s 2026 and 2027 rates. The estimated regional rating factor that will be applied annually for 2025 through 2027 is provided on each rate region’s 2025 health rates page.

The Plan 3 deductible amounts will increase to $3,300/individual and $6,600/family to remain compliant for use with Health Savings Accounts in 2025. No significant changes to covered services or health benefits are anticipated for 2025.

The WELS VEBA Commission approved a limited open enrollment period this fall for new coverage effective January 1, 2025. Eligible workers serving at sponsoring organizations that participate in WELS VEBA will have the opportunity to enroll for new coverage or make changes to their existing WELS VEBA coverage. Limited open enrollment materials will be mailed to eligible workers and sponsoring organizations by the end of October.