Dear Mrs. Glanville,

Thank you for contacting the Governor's Office with your concerns regarding the SC Public Employee Benefit Authority's (PEBA) policy on domestic violence.  Please see below for a message from PEBA regarding clarification on this important matter.

"The South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) produces an Insurance Benefits Guide annually to summarize the insurance benefits available through the programs PEBA offers to the state’s participating public employers. The guide is printed and distributed to all active employees, retirees, COBRA[1] subscribers and survivors covered by the State Health Plan. It is also available on the PEBA website, www.peba.sc.gov.

"The 2016 Insurance Benefits Guide was printed in December 2015, and there was an error on Page 76 of the guide related to exclusions, or services that the State Health Plan does not cover.

"The following two exclusions were printed in the guide:

"37. Intentionally self-inflicted injury, or injuries from attempted suicide, that do not result from a medical condition

"38. Services or supplies to treat a condition or injury resulting from an act of domestic violence

"When the error was caught, the online version of the guide was updated to reflect the accurate information. These two exclusions were combined to read:

"37. Intentionally self-inflicted injury, or injuries from attempted suicide, that do not result from a medical condition or an act of domestic violence

"The State Health Plan covers any injury or illness as a result of domestic violence in the same manner as a similar injury or illness occurring absent of domestic violence. The exception to this coverage only applies to an intentionally self-inflicted injury unless the injury is related to a medical condition or domestic violence.

"We regret that this error occurred and apologize for any inconvenience and concern this has caused our members and organizations that provide assistance to individuals affected by domestic violence."

If you have any other questions, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Schimsa
Governor's Office