CalPERS to Consider HMO Rates

The health-care committee of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or CalPERS, will meet today to vote on requests from several health maintenance organizations to raise rates of CalPERS’ 1 million members.

The requests, which generally ask for about 7.3%, mark the second year in a row that California’s managed-care companies have asked for raises.

Among the HMOs seeking increases is PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., which three years ago promised CalPERS it would tie increases to the consumer price index. But the Cypress-based HMO contends that it needs to be able to raise premiums because health-care costs have been rising faster than the rate of inflation.

For nearly a decade, health-care premiums in the state have remained flat as HMOs competed fiercely for customers.