The Public Employees' Medical & Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) governs the CalPERS Health Program, which enables you to provide a quality health benefits program to your employees while reducing financial risk. The program covers state employees by law. Local public agencies and school employers can contract to have CalPERS provide these benefits to their employees, regardless of whether they contract for our retirement program. Visit Health Program Contracting Agencies for a list of agencies that’ve contracted for health benefits.
At your agency’s discretion, active employees can submit most health enrollment changes along with supporting documentation, online through their myCalPERS account. Visit Online Health Enrollment for Active Employees for more information.
Open Enrollment takes place each fall. 2024 Open Enrollment is September 16 to October 11, 2024. Changes made during Open Enrollment take effect January 1, 2025.
The following Cognos reports provide a listing of ZIP codes for HMO and PPO plans that are available in each county by health plan. Health plan codes for reporting and enrollment purposes are also included.
To access the Cognos reports, log in to myCalPERS and select the Reports link within the Common Tasks left-side navigation menu.
For instructions on generating any Cognos report, refer to the myCalPERS Employer Reports (Cognos) (PDF) student guide.
As your health benefits purchaser, CalPERS ensures our health plans comply with all relevant provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and provides information to our contracting agencies and schools. Employers have certain responsibilities to comply with the ACA and must become familiar with its requirements and effective dates and make policy decisions based on individual needs and practices.
To learn more about the ACA, see Affordable Care Act (ACA) Guidance and review our Circular Letters.
Effective July 1, 2024, the CalPERS Board of Administration set the PEMHCA administrative fee to 0.24%. This administrative fee is calculated on both total active and retired health premiums each month.
Contracting agencies are required to provide an employer health contribution toward the cost of the monthly premium for all eligible employees and annuitants. PEMHCA requires minimum contribution amounts and allows for various contribution methods. Contact us to discuss the options available to you.
If your agency is interested in participating in the CalPERS Health Benefits Program, email Health Program Consultation Services or call (916) 795-1233. To contract for health and retirement benefits, visit Contracts.
If your agency already has a CalPERS health resolution on file and you'd like to make changes to monthly employer health contributions, email the Health Resolutions and Compliance Unit.