ATLANTA - Georgia faces a mounting price tag that could reach $20 billion in the coming years to cover health benefits already promised to tens of thousands of retired teachers and other state employees.

The cost is so staggering that Gov. Sonny Perdue is considering raising premiums or eliminating health-care benefits altogether for state retirees, according to e-mails obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request.

Perdue spokesman Dan McLagan said the state is awaiting a report from an outside actuary detailing the full costs of the benefits over the next 30 years.

"At this time it would be irresponsible to rule anything in or out," Mr. McLagan said Wednesday.

A draft analysis issued in March estimated the price tag for the non pension health benefits at $17.6 billion over the next three decades. That is just $1 billion less than Georgia's total budget this fiscal year.

Another estimate placed the cost at between $15 billion and $20 billion. The draft report said an annual contribution of $1.5 billion is needed to fund the benefits.

The cost of retiree health care and other non pension benefits - including vision, dental and life insurance - is coming to light in Georgia and other states because of new standards from the federal Government Accounting Standards Board. They require that states provide a look at the future costs of retiree benefits. The rules do not require states to come up with the money all at once. Instead, they're designed to provide greater transparency to the mounting costs of benefits for public employees. Those benefits seem certain to grow even more as baby boomers retire.

Currently, 28,293 Georgia retirees receive benefits through the state, according to the state Department of Community Health. There are about 228,000 active state employees.

Parry Young, a credit analyst at Standard and Poor's, called the non pension benefits "a runaway train."

"This may be the fastest-growing component of any government's budget, and states may discover that these benefits are not at a level that's sustainable," he said.

Mr. Young said Georgia is in relatively good shape because the state's pension plan is on solid fiscal footing.

Still, the failure of states to show that they have a plan in place to pay for non pension health benefits could hurt their bond ratings, which would affect the rate at which they borrow money.

Georgia has a AAA rating from Standard and Poor's, one of only nine states to earn the highest rating.

Mr. McLagan said Mr. Perdue has assembled a group of experts to study the potential budget impact.

Placing aside $1.5 billion annually for a fund to pay for the benefits could make Wall Street happy. But that money won't be easy to come by. Revenues have shown recent signs of slowing in Georgia, and state lawmakers in Mr. Perdue's Republican Party are talking about more tax cuts.

Cutting benefits for retirees in Georgia could be politically tricky for Mr. Perdue, who has said he wants to make the state more attractive for senior citizens flocking to neighboring Florida.

Key state lawmakers involved in the budget process said they don't expect retiree benefits to be slashed.

That's not easing the worry of state employees. The issue has become a hot topic in e-mails fired back and forth between teachers.

An Oct. 5, 2005, e-mail from Neal Childers of the state Department of Community Health said he had been instructed to prepare draft legislation authorizing the state to set different premiums for retirees than for current state employees.

Mr. Childers went on to say in that e-mail that the state Office of Planning and Budget "is now considering elimination of benefits."

Mr. Perdue appears to be actively involved in the process.

A Nov. 30, 2005, e-mail from another health department employee, Carie Summers, said Mr. Perdue asked in a budget hearing when the state would be getting an opinion from the Attorney General's Office on benefit changes for retirees.

The question remains as to what the state may legally do to change benefits for its retirees.