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Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Ind. Gov't. - Senate health care perk modified somewhat [Updated]

Bill Ruthhart has within the hour posted a story on the Indianapolis Star website that reports:

The Indiana Senate today modified its health care coverage to lessen the burden on Indiana taxpayers.

Under changes announced this morning, senators would have to pay more for their health coverage.

Health insurance will only apply to legislators who retire after the age of 50 with at least six years and one day of service in the legislature. Previously, health benefits applied to lawmakers of any age.

Hopefully, complete details will be made available later - these sketchy details indicate that the Senate plan for retired legislators and their families, as well as the plan for Senators and their kin who retire in the future, will continue with minor tweaks, and may be modified or expanded via a simple, unpublished memo of the leadership at any time in the future.

[For earlier related ILB entries, select "Legislative Benefits" from the list of categories in the right column, or by selecting "Legislative Benefits" in the line directly below this entry.]

[Updated at 12:55 pm] An AP story by Mike Smith has been posted on the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:

State senators are scaling back their retirement health benefits, but the changes announced Wednesday did not go as far as a decision by the House to end lifetime, state-subsidized health insurance for those who leave office after the November election.

Under a plan offered since 2002, state lawmakers who served a day more than six years and then retired or were not re-elected were allowed to receive lifetime state health insurance for themselves and their families. Premiums were locked at their current percentage, even if health care costs rose.

Under a House change announced last month, representatives elected or re-elected this November would have to pay the full cost of their coverage with no state subsidy to stay in the insurance plan after leaving office. They also would lose most of their coverage after becoming eligible for Medicare.

The new Senate plan eliminates the benefit for senators or senate employees who retire before the age of 50. Those who retire after that would still receive subsidized health insurance, but their premium copay would be based on a sliding scale that took into account years of service and retirement age.

The longer senators or Senate employees had served and the older they were, the more the state would pay for their health insurance. Those who were younger and had fewer years of service would shoulder more of the insurance premium cost.

Also, retirees would no longer be part of the full plan once they became Medicare eligible. The state would, however, subsidize a Medicare supplement - again based on years of service and retirement age.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 15, 2006 12:09 PM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law | Legislative Benefits