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I I. A- CONTRACTING AGENCY BENEFIT FORUM A SUCCESSFUL START A group comprised of public agency employ- ers, unions, retirees, PERS staff, and members of the PERS Board met for the second L'ime last week during PERS' Educational Forum - - in San Francisco. The objectives of this group are to understand the changes in health are overtime, to find ways to reduce health costs and to devise alternative plans that work for both the contracting agency and its bargaining units. The group discussed trends in the health care market, Blue Shield's pilot program for disease management, and potential strategies for curbing the high rise in health care premiums. It was clearly stated by both the employer community and the union representatives that there was some interest in exploring the possibility of creat- ing a separate pool for contracting agencies under PERS and not grouping us in with the State pool as is the current practice. The group will continue to explore that option, as well as many others, and present recommen- dations to the Board by the beginning of 2004. For more information, call Amy Brown at 916 -658- 8279. UPDATE ON FY 2004 APPROPRIATIONS On Tuesday, October 21, the House passed a continuing resolution (CR), which will keep the federal government operating at FY 2003 spending levels through November 7. The Senate is expected to take up the CR next week. During this time the Senate will take action on its unfinished appropriations bills, including Commerce - Justice - State; Transpor- tation- Treasury; VA -HUD; Foreign Operations; Agriculture; and District of Columbia. If the Senate is unable to complete action on the bills separately, there is a strong possibility that several or all of the bills may be wrapped into an omnibus appropriations bill. The House and Senate will then move to confer- ence to reconcile their differences on the legislation. BREAKFAST MEETING WITH CALPERS BOARD MEMBERS A CHANCE TO VOICE OPINIONS Members of the CalPERS Board met with public agency representatives to discuss con- cerns about their pension options and the rising cost of health care under the Public Employees Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA). The meeting was a chance for agencies to express their frustrations with the increased rise in health premiums, the lack of flexibilities within plans. They also discussed what types of actuarial information is most useful when costing out certain benefits. Sean Harrigan, President of the Board, facili- tated the meeting by encouraging members to give suggestions on what changes the Board needs to make to foster better working relation- ships with public agency employers. One sugges- tion was for the Board to reach out to city manag- ers and county administrative officers more often by attending meetings, communicating through emails and phone calls and attending the CalPERS Board meeting. Mr. Harrigan encour- aged public agencies to participate more in the Committee meetings: health and benefits /admin- istration and investment. He also suggested that city managers, human resources managers and finance officers invite PERS Board members to attend their meetings. Please go to the CalPERS website at www.calpers.ca.00v and click on Board of Admin- istration. You will be able to locate their contact information. Feel free to email or call CalPERS Board members and invite them to your next function. For more information on this and other League issues, visit www.cacities.org Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 3