HARRISBURG — The State System of High Education, which includes Slippery Rock University, on Monday announced changes to its employee health care plan that will cost some employees more but is expected to save the system $3.5 million per year.

The changes, which will take effect Jan. 1, will cover about 15 percent of state system employees, including managers and administrators, university health center nurses and campus police officers and security guards.

At SRU, this covers about 110 employees.

Those employees will contribute from $3 to $14 more per pay period to the cost of their insurance, depending on their level of coverage. All affected employees will pay the higher premium while other plan adjustments, including a $250 deductible — with a $500-a-year per family limit — for some medical services, will affect employees based on their usage of the plan.

Chancellor Frank Brogan said this will reduce costs while preserving the quality of education for students.

“Our employees will continue to have access to a comprehensive package of health care coverage for themselves and their families at modestly higher rates,” Brogan said in a statement.

The state system has been developing these adjustments over the past year, working with Highmark on plan revisions that will both lower the cost of coverage and continue to provide a good level of benefits to employees.

The changes announced Monday will cover the system’s 1,500 nonrepresented employees, including the chancellor, university presidents and other administrators, as well as members of two of its other unions — the Office of Professional Employees International Healthcare Pennsylvania (OPIEU), which represents about 85 university health center nurses; and the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA), which represents about 225 campus police and security officers.

The OPEIU and SPFPA contracts call for their members’ health care coverage to match that for nonrepresented employees.

Under the health care plan, covered employees currently pay $5 to $36 for prescriptions. With the changes, they will pay $10 to $50 for each prescription they buy.

The state system already will save about $2.7 million in health care costs this year as the result of recent collective bargaining agreements reached with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the State College and University Professional Association. Those two unions combined represent about 4,100 state system employees.