States asked to bail out government workers' health programs.(The Dallas Morning News)

WASHINGTON _ Health insurance programs for government workers and retirees are in critical condition. And lawmakers in several states, including Texas, are being asked for hundreds of millions of dollars to resuscitate them.

The problem couldn't come at a worse time. The economic slowdown is taking its toll on state budgets after several years of hefty surpluses.

"There's been a pretty abrupt shift," said Stacey Mazer, acting executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers in Washington. "Last year, we were discussing what we were doing with our surpluses. And today, we're asking how do we find the funds to deal with this cost overrun."

Because of that, dollars needed to rescue health insurance programs aren't going to other priorities, such as education and road construction. And some Texas lawmakers say the current sales-tax rate may not be enough to offset future medical cost increases.

"It's easy to raise benefits. It's easy to keep employee contributions down. It just means somebody else is going to have to pay for it _ the taxpayers. The taxpayers in the end are paying for that," said Steve Eschbach, an actuary at the Denver office of Milliman & Robertson, which specializes in state programs.

The Employees Retirement System of Texas, which runs the health insurance program for government workers and retirees, has asked the Legislature for an additional $752 million over the next two years. That's on top of the nearly $1.7 billion spent by the state in the current two-year budget cycle (about 1.5 percent of the state budget).

Officials at the retirement system say their reserve fund will soon be empty and premiums aren't keeping pace with medical expenses for the 522,000 employees, retirees and dependents.