Southeast Missouri State University will be searching for a new health insurance plan for faculty and staff following a decision Friday by the university's board of regents.

The regents voted in closed session to drop out of the MSU Benefits Group health consortium and look for a new health insurance plan. The university will be leaving the consortium by the end of the year and going to a new insurance plan that still must be worked out later this year, school officials said.

University president Dr. Ken Dobbins said Central Missouri State University also plans to leave the six-college consortium, which has seen rising insurance premiums in recent years.

Dobbins said the university is talking to several health insurance companies about crafting a plan that will meet the needs of the school's employees and retirees.