A group that manages state employee benefits and health coverage faces substantial changes under new legislation, proposed by State Senator Brian Townsend (D-Newark).
The State Employee Benefits Committee (SEBC) consists of 14 members– two of whom are appointed by the state senate pro team and house speaker to represent the interests of retired state employees.
Under current SEBC laws, the retiree representatives are not allowed to have designees attend meetings or subcommittee meetings in their place, which other members of the committee are allowed to do.
Townsend clarifies that under bill, the retiree reps could only exercise this, "with the approval of the authority that had initially appointed you."
He added that the changes in this bill don't come from the SEBC "as a body." An SEBC retiree representative approached him because of schedule conflicts with meetings in the fall and asked about codifying a revision.
But Townsend said, "I haven't heard any objections from anyone."
He notes the bill makes other revisions to the SEBC, based on requests from its current chair, Office of Management and Budget director Brian Maxwell.
Based on Maxwell’s request, Townsend’s bill would move OMD director from chair to voting member and make the Delaware Healthcare Commissioner the group’s chair. Townsend said that would put a health policy expert at the helm.
The bill would also remove the State Treasurer from the committee.
The state's legal back and forth with RISE, group created in response to a state attempt to move retirees onto Medicare advantage, only resolved a few years ago. And the group recently voted to keep retirees on a plan "identical to" what they're on now, rather than "similar to."
"I will say that for those who maybe follow the SEBC closely, there's a lot of active conversation and lively debate happening there," Townsend said. "This legislation does not even purport to begin to address all the different feelings people have about things that are happening there."
The State Employee Benefits Committee reviews and votes on healthcare insurance proposals for state employees and retirees in Delaware – which means it controls health insurance for the largest employer in the state.
