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Thursday, June 01, 2006

Ind. Gov't. - More on: Senate democrats reject retirement benefits

Supplementing the ILB entry from yesterday are these stories:

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener of the Louisville Courier Journal writes that:

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Senate Democrats said yesterday they support a further reduction of health benefits for future legislative retirees and won't individually accept the benefit as currently defined.

Senate Minority Leader Richard Young, D-Milltown, said lawmakers should not get any benefit that isn't available to state employees.

Young wrote a letter to the chamber's principal clerk, Mary Mendel, last week saying Democrats "have collectively agreed that any member of our caucus who returns to the Senate next year will not accept the retirement healthcare benefit in its current form."

The letter came several months after Young and other members of his caucus endorsed changes that Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus, made in the controversial plan that would have still provided state-subsidized benefits for some legislative retirees.

But yesterday, Young said those changes didn't go far enough.

"It's always difficult for us as legislators to deal with issues that involve ourselves, whether it's a pay raise, pensions or health care," he said. "Our caucus position would be that we would not continue this program." * * *

The plan provided significant discounts on health-insurance premiums for retired lawmakers, their spouses and even former spouses. It let retired lawmakers keep the insurance even after they were old enough to qualify for Medicare.

Young said that at the time the plan was put in place, he didn't understand what a generous benefit it would be, and that he has been uncomfortable about it for some time. He said one of his caucus members, Sen. Lindel Hume, D-Princeton, prepared legislation to eliminate it but didn't offer it at Garton's request.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, who was the House minority leader when the legislation was approved, has said he didn't understand the ramifications.

Bosma announced this year that he would end the plan and that future legislative retirees -- those leaving the House after 2006 -- would receive only the health-care benefit that state employees get. State employees can retain their benefits -- but only if they pay the full cost with no state subsidy, and only until they qualify for Medicare.

Garton, however, chose to only partially scale back the plan. He eliminated the benefit for anyone who retired before 50 but left in place some state subsidy for older retirees based on their age and length of service. The issue was used against him in the primary, where he was defeated.

At the time Garton amended the Senate plan, Young had said, "We are pleased to see a plan emerge that is more closely in line with what average Hoosiers deal with today."

Here is the Indianapolis Star's Mary Beth Schneider's story in today's paper, including these quotes:
Indiana Senate Democrats have joined the growing line of lawmakers who say they will not accept the generous health care benefits legislators gave themselves a few years ago.

They were pretty quiet, though, about their decision. Only at the end of a news conference on their plan to provide health care insurance for all Hoosiers did Senate Minority Leader Richard D. Young Jr., D-Milltown, disclose he wrote a letter last week saying Senate Democrats will opt out of the coverage.

"We should not have any benefit that is not available to all state employees," Young said.

The health care benefit -- lifetime coverage to legislators, their dependent children, spouses and ex-spouses -- is only one such perk unavailable to others. Another, which remains in place in the Senate and House, matches every dollar a legislator contributes to their pension with $4 in taxpayer funds.

Young and other Senate Democrats had joined Senate Republican leaders this year at a news conference in which they said they would keep a retooled version of the health insurance program for lawmakers, rather than discard it as the House did.

Wednesday, Young said one Democrat, Sen. Lindel Hume of Princeton, had prepared legislation repealing the plan. Young said the bill was never filed, at the request of Senate President Pro Tempore Robert D. Garton, R-Columbus.

Outrage about the issue contributed to Garton's defeat in the May 2 primary election.

Since then, several Republicans interested in succeeding Garton as the Senate leader have said they would kill the benefit. Recently, House Republicans signed a pledge promising to seek a repeal of the plan. House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said he, too, would do away with it.

If Democrats had been in charge in the Senate, Young said, the plan never would have been enacted. Still, he defended the need for some health care coverage for the part-time lawmakers.

"As media people, you have health care problems. You need health insurance. Your families need health insurance," Young told reporters. "Legislators have health care problems. Legislators and their families need health insurance."

Of course, the issue is not about legislators receiving health insurance while they are members of the General Assembly; the issue is about coverage by the taxpayers after the legislators retire from the General Assembly -- lifetime benefits for as little as 6 years of service.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 1, 2006 08:24 AM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law | Legislative Benefits