NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature.  The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.



Only the most recent FIR version, excluding attachments, is available on the Intranet. Previously issued FIRs and attachments may be obtained from the LFC office in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.





F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T





SPONSOR: Altamirano DATE TYPED: 03/01/01 HB
SHORT TITLE: Retiree Health Care Contribution Levels SB 71/aSFC
ANALYST: Carrillo


APPROPRIATION



Appropriation Contained
Estimated Additional Impact
Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY01 FY02 FY01 FY02
See Fiscal Implications



(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)







REVENUE



Estimated Revenue
Subsequent

Years Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY01 FY02
See Fiscal Implications



(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)



SOURCES OF INFORMATION



LFC Files

Retiree Health Care Authority

New Mexico Gaming Control Board

Office of the State Auditor

Department of Game and Fish

New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department

No Response:

New Mexico Health Policy Commission

Public Employees Retirement Association

Educational Retirement Board

Department of Finance and Administration

State Personnel Office - No Response

Public School Insurance Authority

General Services Department

Administrative Office of the Courts

Taxation and Revenue Department

State Department of Public Education

Commission on Higher Education



SUMMARY



     Synopsis of SFC Amendment



The Senate Finance Committee amendment to Senate Bill 71 does the following:



Adds a new section removing the 9 percent cap on group health care trend increases after FY08. After FY08, the increase shall not exceed the Retiree Health Care Authority's group health care trend.



Deletes the original bill's proposed employer 1.85 percent and employee .925 percent increases beginning in FY08.



The portion of the Fiscal Implications section referring to FY08 and beyond is no longer valid. The remainder of the Fiscal Implications section remains unchanged. The fiscal impact of SB 71/a is:



($6,020.0)/year Recurring General Fund

($ 362.9)/year Recurring Other State Funds

($ 153.2)/year Recurring Internal Services/Interagency Transfers

($ 821.9)/year Recurring Federal Funds

$7,357.8/year Recurring Retiree Health Care Fund



FY02-FY08 ($9,107,391)* Recurring General Fund

FY02-FY08 $9,107,391* Recurring Retiree Health Care Fund



*The detail is presented in the Fiscal Implications Section.



The remainder of the FIR is unchanged.



Synopsis of Original Bill



Senate Bill 71 proposes to increase the Tax Administration Suspense Fund distribution and the employer and employee contribution rates made to the Retiree Health Care Fund. The following illustrates the proposed increases.



Tax Administration Suspense Fund
Current Distribution Proposed Distribution
106% of the prior fiscal year's distribution 112% of the prior fiscal year's distribution


Employer Contribution
Current Contribution Proposed Contribution
1% of each participating employee's annual salary FY02 through FY07 - 1.3% of each participating employee's annual salary

FY08 and beyond - 1.85% of each participating employee's annual salary



Employee Contribution
Current Contribution Proposed Contribution
.5% of the employee's annual salary FY02 through FY07 - .65% of each participating employee's annual salary

FY08 and beyond - .925% of each participating employee's annual salary



Significant Issues



Revenue sources to the Retiree Health Care Fund include payroll assessments on employers and employees, retiree premiums, income taxes paid on state pension income (Tax Administration Suspense Fund), interest income and charges for optional coverage. The first chart shows the percentage derived from each source of revenue. The second chart illustrates the annual revenue trends. The percentage contribution from the retirees has steadily increased, while the remaining revenue sources have decreased.







Revenue Source


FY98

Actual



FY99

Actual



FY00

Actual

FY01

Operating

Budget



FY02

Projected

Employer 27.0% 24.4% 25.1% 24.6% 22.7%
Employee 13.6% 12.1% 12.4% 12.3% 11.3%
Retiree 28.7% 34.2% 38.3% 44.6% 48.6%
Investment 24.9% 23.3% 18.1% 12.4% 11.6%
State Pension 5.4% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 4.8%
All Other* 0.4% 1.0% 1.1% 1.1% 1.0%

* Rebates and refunds.







Revenue Source


FY98

Actual



FY99

Actual



FY00

Actual

FY01

Operating

Budget



FY02

Projected

Employer 21,073.8

22,279.0

5.7%

24,033.5

7.9%

24,754.5

3.0%

25,497.1

3.0%

Employee 10,624.1

11,066.9

4.2%

11,839.7

7.0%

12,377.3

4.5%

12,748.6

3.0%

Retiree 22,460.6

31,148.3

38.7%

36,615.8

17.6%

44,769.2

22.3%

54,820.1

22.5%

Investment 19,453.5

21,205.8

9.0%

17,294.8

-18.4%

12,414.5

28.2%

13,000.6

4.7%

State Pension 4,255.6

4,510.9

6.0%

4,781.5

6.0%

5,068.4

6.0%

5,372.5

6.0%

All Other* 320.0 933.3

191.9%

1,083.6

13.7%

1,083.6

0.0%

1,083.6

0.0%

Total 78,187.6

91,144.2

16.6%

95,648.9

4.9%

100,467.5

5.0%

112,522.5

12.0%



During the 2000 legislative session, the Retiree Health Care Act was amended to include provisions for service-to-benefit credit. This amendment authorized the board to establish a subsidy scale for retirees and their eligible dependents commensurate with the retiree's years of credited service with a participating employer. This affects members retiring as of July 1, 2001. This change added one year of solvency to the reserve fund. With this change, the actuarial consultant projects the retiree health care fund solvent to 2012. The RHCA board adopted a policy for a rolling 25-year solvency period. This projection is 13 years short of complying with the board's solvency policy. The Legislative Finance Committee continues to encourage the Retiree Health Care Authority board to reconsider its policy and target a more realistic rolling solvency period. The board could amend the policy to a rolling 15-year solvency period and, when that target is met, amend the policy.



For FY00, 53.2 percent ($19.1 million) of the employer and employee contributions were used to pay costs of current retirees, and the remaining 46.8 percent ($16.8 million) was credited to the reserve fund. The revenue credit is used to pre-fund benefits for future retirees. The chart below illustrates that the revenue credit to the reserve fund will be exhausted by FY04.



Reserve Fund Revenue


FY98

Actual



FY99

Actual



FY00

Actual

FY01

Operating

Budget



FY02

Projected

21,117.6 26,801.9 16,788.7 9,647.7 4,045.6



Section 10-7C-13 NMSA 1978 was amended to limit the premium increase on retiree contributions to 9 percent per year. The projected costs of the current retirees for FY02 will be subsidized by 49.7 percent. If current healthcare trends continue, RHCA will begin to use the reserve to subsidize retiree costs in FY05.



The following chart shows the projected reserve fund balances.



Reserve Fund Projected Activity FY98 through FY1


Fiscal Year
Beginning

Balance

Projected

Revenue

Projected

Expenditure

Ending

Balance

Percentage

Change

FY98 79,078.5 78,187.4 55,726.8 101,539.4
FY99 101,539.4 91,144.2 64,342.3 128,341.1 26.4%
FY00 128,341.1 95,648.8 76,553.8 147,436.1 14.9%
FY01 147,436.1 100,467.4 90,819.7 157,083.8 6.5%
FY02 157,083.7 112,522.5 107,793.1 161,813.2 3.0%
FY03 161,813.2 119,695.5 115,132.6 166,576.1 2.9%
FY04 166,576.1 129,285.2 127,372.7 168,488.6 1.1%
FY05 166,488.6 139,029.6 139,616.3 167,901.9 (0.3%)
FY06 167,901.9 149,517.1 152,833.4 164,785.6 (1.9%)
FY07 164,785.6 150,752.4 156,619.1 158,868.9 (3.6%)
FY08 158,868.9 173,209.8 182,833.9 149,244.8 (6.1%)
FY09 149,244.8 186,489.6 200,050.5 135,683.9 (9.1%)
FY10 135,683.9 201,125.9 219,492.9 117,316.9 (13.5%)
FY11 117,316.9 217,100.6 241,115.4 93,302.1 (20.5%)
FY12 93,302.1 234,017.1 264,515.2 62,804.0 (32.7%)
FY13 62,804.0 251,627.5 289,556.0 24,875.5 (60.4%)
FY14 24,875.5 270,363.9 316,593.4 (21,354.0) (185.8%)
FY15 (21,354.0) 293,784.5 345,205.1 (72,774.6) (240.8%)



The LFC continues to encourage the board to seek options that are beneficial to the fund, employers, employees and retirees. These options may include:



     

     

     

     

     

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS



SB 71 contains no appropriation. However, the following table illustrates the fiscal impact to the various funds. The FY00 actual payroll valuation for PERA and ERA members used for the calculations are from the respective actuarial studies for the period ended June 30, 2000. NOTE: No adjustment has been made for cost-of-living or classification adjustments.



APPROPRIATION

(To the Retiree Health Care Fund)

Fiscal Year Estimated Additional Impact Recurring or Non-Recurring Fund Affected
FY02-FY07

(6,020.0)/year

(362.9)/year

(153.2)/year

(821.9)/year

7,357.8/year

Recurring

Recurring

Recurring

Recurring

Recurring

General Fund

Other State Funds*

Internal Services/Intragency Transfers

Federal Funds

Other State Funds (Retiree Health Care Fund)

FY08 & Beyond (1,1036.7)/year

(665.4)/year

(280.9)/year

(1,506.3)/year

13,89.3/year

Recurring

Recurring

Recurring

Recurring

Recurring

General Fund

Other State Funds*

Internal Services/Intragency Transfers

Federal Funds

Other State Funds (Retiree Health Care Fund)

FY02-FY08 (9,107,391)**

9,107,391

Recurring

Recurring

General Fund

Other State Funds (Retiree Health Care Fund)



*Other State Funds include: Land Income, Road Fund, Fee Income, Retirement Funds, Alcohol Detox Fund, Investment Income, Interest Income, Canteen Sales.



** The detail is presented in the following chart.



EMPLOYER

(dollars in thousands)





Contribution

Period





General

Fund



Other

State

Funds

Internal Services/

Interagency Transfers





Federal

Funds







Total
Proposed

FY02-FY07 Rate (1.3%)

PERA

ERA

TOTAL







872.9/year

5,147.1/year

6,020.0/year







362.9/year

362.9/year







153.2/year

153.2/year







550.7/year

270.9/year

821.9/year







1,939.8/year

5,418.0/year

7,357.8/year

Proposed FY08 & Beyond Rate (1.85%)

PERA

ERA

TOTAL







1,600.3/year

9,436.4/year

11,036.7/year







665.4/year

665.4/year







280.9/year

280.9/year







1,009.6/year

496.7/year

1,506.3/year







3,556.2/year

9,933.0/year

13,489.3/year



The following shows the negative impact to the Tax Administration Suspense Fund (General Fund) and the positive impact to the Retiree Health Care Fund. The calculation is based on information from the Taxation and Revenue Department and RHCA's actuarial study for the period ended June 30, 2000. The impact is compound annually because the distribution formula is based on the previous years distributed amount.

Tax Administration Suspense Fund (General Fund) and Retiree Health Care Fund

(dollars in thousands)

Fiscal Year General Fund Retiree Health Care Fund
FY03 (322,352) 322,352
FY04 (702,729) 702,729
FY05 (1,149,251) 1,149,251
FY06 (1,671,088) 1,671,088
FY07 (2,278,580) 2,278,580
FY08 (2,983,391) 2,983,391





The employee impact is illustrated below.



EMPLOYEE

(dollars in thousands)





Contribution

Period





General

Fund



Other

State

Funds

Internal Services/

Interagency Transfers





Federal

Funds







Total
Proposed

FY02-FY07 Rate (.65%)

PERA

ERA

TOTAL







436.4/year

2,573.6/year

3,010.0/year







181.5/year

181.5/year







76.6/year

76.6/year







275.4/year

135.5/year

410.8/year







969.9/year

2,709.0/year

3,678.9/year

Proposed FY08 & Beyond Rate (.925%

PERA

ERA

TOTAL







800.2/year

4,718.2/year

5,518.3/year







332.7/year

332.7/year







140.5/year

140.5/year







504.8/year

248.3/year

753.1/year







1,778.1/year

4,966.5/year

6,744.6/year



According RCHA staff, these proposed changes will extend the solvency period of the fund to 2026.





ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS



RHCA staff indicated in the agency bill analysis that without these changes the board "will be forced to strip befits by approximately 23% or again pass significant premium contribution increases of approximately 40% to current participants, or a combination thereof, in order to attain the 25-year solvency period."



OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES



The following shows benefits-related trends. The percentage indicates the change from one fiscal year to the previous fiscal year. The largest increases occur in the medical and prescription drug areas. These increases are in line with nationally projected increases. The non-Medicare participants are responsible for 65 percent of the medical utilization and 30 percent of prescription drug costs.



UTILIZATION






FY98

Actual



FY99

Actual



FY00

Actual

FY01

Operating

Budget



FY02

Projected

Number of Participants 25,369 27,210

6.7%

28,865

6.1%

30,334

5.1%

31,985

5.4%

Medical 37,901.5 41,934.9

10.6%

50,978.5

21.6%

55,241.5

8.4%

64,412.6

16.6%

Prescription Drugs 13,067.1 15,062.6

15.3%

17,431.0

15.7%

26,360.1

51.2%

33,433.0

26.8%

Ancillary* 1,343.1 1,426.9

6.2%

1,531.6

7.3%

1,689.4

10.3%

1,791.5

6.0%

Dental 1,850.4 2,476.4

33.8%

3,098.0

25.1%

3,321.8

34.1%

3,758.8

13.2%

Vision 470.7 536.4

14.0%

635.1

18.4%

723.2

13.9%

813.8

12.5%

Other** 1,034.3 1,195.4

15.6%

1,358.4

13.6%

1,527.4

12.4%

1,642.1

7.5%

Total 55,667.1 62,632.6

12.5%

75,032.6

19.8%

88,863.4

18.4%

105,851.8

19.1%

 * Basic Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment.

** Voluntary Life and Long-term Care.



The chart shows a breakdown of non-medicare-and medicare-eligible members including growth rate in percent.







Participants


FY98

Actual



FY99

Actual



FY00

Actual

FY01

Operating

Budget



FY02

Projected

Non-Medicare 12,367 12,572

1.7%

13,089

4.1%

13,528

3.4%

14,133

4.5%

Medicare 13,002 14,638

12.6%

15,776

7.8%

16,806

6.5%

17,852

6.2%

Total 25,369 27,210

7.3%

28,865

6.1%

30,334

5.1%

31,985

5.4%





The medicare-eligible participants are increasing at a faster rate than the non-Medicare eligible participants. The medicare-eligible participants are responsible for approximately 70 percent of the prescription drug costs and 35 percent of the medical utilization. As noted on the utilization chart, medical and prescription drug trends are projected to increase 16.6 percent and 26.8 percent respectively for FY02.



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