27 former State senators and representatives send an open letter to Gov. John Carney and lawmakers, responding to State’s plans to move thousands of retired state employees to Medicare Advantage.
“They claim that we were a real drain on the retiree fund that pays for these benefits, even though we cost the least amount per person of any of the groups that get medical coverage from the state. I think they thought we were an easy target,” said State Senator Karen Peterson, who spent 42 years in the state government.
She says the human impact of this plan should guide decision making.
“There’s a human toll here. It’s not just how much money can you save on the backs of retirees. It’s how is this going to affect people.”
The letter reminds the governor and legislators that state law requires that the “best plan” is selected to satisfy the interests of both the State and its pensioners.
Citing the letter, Peterson argues forcing retirees into a plan that denies medically-necessary care ordered by doctors, requires pre-authorization requests for 2,030 procedures and medications, and comes with a substantial increase in out-of-pocket costs for retirees is not the “best plan” to satisfy the interests of Delaware’s pensioners.
Peterson says legislators have moved to properly assess the situation, but she doesn’t expect they will have much of an impact.
“They passed a bill a couple weeks ago to create a subcommittee that’s supposed to be studying the retirees' healthcare to try to decide what the best course of action would be,” she explained. “However, the Governor’s office put language in the epilogue that would simply let them bypass the whole procedure.”
She’s referring to SB29, signed into law January 26th. Despite the law requiring recommendations be sent to the Governor and the General Assembly by May 1, Peterson argues it’s clear they plan to continue to push forward with the original plan.
The underlying reason for switching retirees to Medicare Advantage is to help manage Delaware’s $10 billion unfunded liability for retiree healthcare.
However, the letter states targeting retiree benefits won’t make much of a dent in the state’s unfunded liability, citing findings from the state’s consultant who found changes to eligibility for retirement healthcare benefits would have a far greater impact.
You can read the full letter below:
An Open Letter to Gov. John Carney and Members of the Legislature
From Former Legislators
Dear Gov. Carney and Legislators:
We, the undersigned former legislators, are writing to express our deepest concerns about the State’s efforts to privatize Medicare for 30,000 retirees and dependents. Many of us will also be affected by this monumental change to the benefits that the State has provided its retirees for decades.
We are particularly concerned, given the findings of your own consultants, that privatizing retirees’ benefits by switching to Medicare Advantage will have much less impact on the unfunded liability in the State’s healthcare fund than other changes. They found that changes to eligibility for retirement healthcare benefits would have a far greater impact than privatizing traditional Medicare. After all, retiree Medicare benefits are 80% funded by the federal government.
The unfunded liability of the State’s healthcare fund should not be the only consideration in your decision-making. The law requires that you select the “best plan” that satisfies the interests of the State and its pensioners. Forcing retirees into a plan that:
- delays and denies medically-necessary care ordered by their doctors;
- requires that retirees request pre-authorization for 2,030 procedures and medications;
- charges deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and “cost-sharing” fees;
- forces retirees to use “in-network” doctors instead of their own; and
- prevents retirees from getting treatment at specialty hospitals that do not accept Medicare Advantage;
is not the “best plan” to satisfy the interests of Delaware’s pensioners.
Even in the worst of times, we kept our promises to our retirees and made sure that their excellent healthcare benefits were secure. Now it is your turn to do the same for those who went before you.
Respectfully yours,
Sen. Myrna Bair, Sen. Patricia Blevin, Sen. George Bunting, Sen. Catherine Cloutier, Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, Sen. Harris McDowell, Sen. Karen Peterson, Sen. Bruce Ennis, Sen. Liane Sorenson, Rep. Nancy Wagner, Rep. Michael Barbieri, Rep. Donald Blakey, Rep. David Ennis, Rep. Harvey Kenton, Rep. John Kowalko, Rep. Vincent Lofink, Rep. Stephanie Ulbrich, Rep. Dennis E. Williams, Rep. Nicholas Manolakos, Rep. Joseph Miro, Rep. Michael Mulrooney, Rep. Shirley Price, Rep. Bruce Reynolds, Rep. Roger Roy, Rep. Terry Spence, Rep. Robert Valihura, Rep. Pamela Thornburg
