Compadres:

One of the old saws beaten with a stick by the Covid years is that we’re not living in a perfect
world… life is only a beach when you include the dangerous tidal surges and rip tides that come
along with it.

We are still feeling the negative ripple effect Covid had for our overall well-being, in particular,
across the healthcare sector. Covid exposed systemic weaknesses that our healthcare system
(insurance included) is struggling to amend.

We see this, for 2024, in an unprecedented 32% increase in BCBSVT premiums, and BCBSVT is
not alone. The impact is system-wide. All employers across the state, not just Sd, are hit with
these increased costs this year.

Enrollment for 2024 is fast approaching… We will be increasing Sd’s employer percentage of
premium costs in an attempt to mitigate some of this stress, but there will be an impact for all
of you as well. We wish we could do more. We will continue to make every effort possible to
contain costs and maintain benefits going forward.

Thank you all for your selfless service.

dp