Audit: State employee health plans short of money

HELENA - State employees will pay more and get less from their health insurance plan to remedy serious financial problems revealed in a legislative audit.

The state employee group benefits plan gobbled up $28.5 million in reserves since mid-1998 and ended February in the red by $2.7 million, auditors said.

They concluded that ''rates are inadequate to maintain the state employee benefits plan on an actuarial sound basis'' as required by state law. The plan has no extra money to cover catastrophic events or pay employee claims that surpass predictions, the report said.

Department of Administ...