On Tuesday, David Lechner, vice president for business and finance for the University of Nebraska, issued the following University of Nebraska Health Plan 2003 Year-end Report to all faculty and staff.
This is the year-end report on the University of Nebraska health plan. The plan is self-funded, meaning that costs are paid by a combination of contributions made by the university and premiums paid by employees, retirees and others who benefit from the plan.
In the past five years, our health costs have almost doubled.
In 2003 alone, health care costs rose by more than 23 percent for active employees and 37 percent for retirees. As a result, our health care plan experienced record-high expenditures, ending the year with a $1 million deficit.
The main reason for these increases was an unprecedented number of cases over $25,000. The plan had 320 such cases totaling $23 million in 2003, compared to 236 cases totaling $14 million in 2002. In 2003, there were seven cases in excess of $300,000 (totaling $4.7 million) compared to none in the previous year.
Over the next few months, we will provide additional information on your health care plan. If you have questions, please contact your campus benefits administrator (UNMC, 559-4340).