Health insurance costs are expected to take a bigger bite out of the state’s budget and out of state employees’ pocketbooks next year.
Officials from the Department of Central Management Services told a legislative panel Tuesday they expect to see an increase of $380 million, or 9%, in total costs to the system in fiscal year 2027.
That would bring total expenses paid by all funding sources to about $4.6 billion.
That would be a slightly lower rate of inflation than the state has seen in recent years.
Costs increased this fiscal year by an estimated $403 million, or 10.5%, over fiscal year 2025. That year was almost 15% higher than fiscal year 2024.
CMS Director Raven DeVaughn said the increases have been due to several factors, including growth in the state’s workforce, and general inflation in the health care industry.
