On Wednesday, May 9, the
Illinois House passed Senate Bill 1313, Amendment #9, which aims to stabilize
the state’s health care system by requiring state retirees to pay a portion of
their healthcare premiums.
This bill does not affect public
school teachers or community college employees who already contribute premiums
to the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP) or the College Insurance
Program (CIP). My respect for public employees runs deep, which is why this was
one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, but if nothing is
done I truly believe our State employee health care system will fail.
Failure of the system would create a
scenario where future State retirees would lose their health insurance benefit
completely. I supported an amendment that puts protections in place giving
lawmakers the opportunity to object if we feel the changes are not implemented
fairly. It is important that retirees understand that this bill does not take
away retiree health care benefits.
However, it will require retired
employees to contribute to their health insurance premiums to help offset
rising healthcare costs. Today there are 78,000 retirees who pay no premium for
healthcare. Another 7,400 pay a portion of their premium and 36,000 dependents are
enrolled but whose premium does not cover the true cost of the healthcare
benefit. Providing this benefit costs the State of Illinois between $800 and
$900 million per year.
The change puts in place a mechanism that allows
the Director of CMS to determine the State’s premium payments on behalf of
retired employees – including lawmakers and judges. CMS has proposed guidelines
for determining what retirees’ contributions will be based upon a sliding scale
that takes into account length of service and ability to pay. The percent
of cost the retiree will pay will also be based on his or her pension level.
Senate Bill 1313 House Amendment 9 was approved in the Senate on Thursday and
has been sent to the governor.
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