The Delaware legislature will hold a special session later this month to add more oversight to the state’s transition of retiree health insurance to Medicare Advantage, a move that has been protested across Delaware in recent weeks. vote for
However, retirees are still trying to reject the plan outright. The lawsuit seeks to block the transition to Medicare Advantage, a type of Medicare plan offered through private insurance companies.
The special session, which has bipartisan support in both houses, will be held on Oct. 26, just two days after the deadline for retirees to opt out of Medicare Advantage plans. If retirees do so, they will lose state-funded health care, and state officials are urging retirees to speak out.
Retirees hope the court will make a decision before the deadline at the end of this month. This plan he will enter into force on January 1, 2023.
BackgroundDelaware plans to change its retiree health care plan.Seniors are angry and fighting back
Congress will not vote to block this deal with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. Lawmakers say they have no authority to do so.
Instead, they will vote to create a subcommittee under the state employee benefits board that “adds further oversight to the transition process.” Composed of state retirees, incumbents and union representatives, it will “monitor Hymark’s performance over the three-year term of its current contract,” according to a news release.
Senate Bill 348, which has not yet been introduced, creates an ombudsperson in the Human Resources Department, tasked with helping state pensioners transition under the new plan.
RISEDelaware, a non-profit organization founded to advocate for retirees and combat this change, called the special session “to appease retirees and pretend that the new Medicare Advantage plan resembles the current plan in some way. A pitiful pastime for ”.
“A hands-on reading of the planning documents will show lawmakers the very real and distressing problems facing retirees,” the group said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Delaware officials decided to move to the Medicare Advantage Plan as a way to reduce the state’s ballooning outstanding debt. According to estimates, it could grow to $33 billion by 2050.
These types of private plans have come under intense public scrutiny. This spring, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General released a report that found “widespread and persistent problems related to inappropriate refusal of services and payments.”
New York Times survey published this week found that health insurers abused the program to increase profits by billions of dollars. As The New York Times reported, they do this by creating a system that makes patients appear sicker, but does not offer additional treatment.
In Delaware, many retirees fear being forced to purchase medical insurance and being denied or delayed treatment. Many say they worked for the state for decades to get the state’s strong retirement benefits. Now they feel betrayed.
The decision to move to Medicare Advantage surprised retirees and some lawmakers this summer. Lawmakers previously voted for this decision to move him to Medicare Advantage in June as part of the state’s budget. But Rep. John Kowalco, one of his most vocal critics of the plan, said lawmakers were misunderstood.
Kowalko will retire in January and will be dependent on state retirement benefits. He said in an interview Monday that he does not support his bill.
“It’s a deliberate police exclusion,” he said.
According to Kowalco, the bill is a way to excuse the negligent action of the General Assembly by passing something that does not reflect any kind of legitimate reforms to what retirees are facing.
He believes the General Assembly could have done something to block Medicare Advantage weeks before the deal was signed. he said he decided to
A group of Senate Democrats called on the Carney administration to delay fulfillment of the contract, but those involved declined, citing contractual obligations already imposed. In response to the outrage, the state and Highmark also agreed to his four-month delay in preapproval requirements, among other concessions.
Kowalko recently helped found RISEDelaware. It stands for Retireees Investing in Social Equity Delaware. The organization is part of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court, alleges that the state failed to follow administrative procedures in implementing the change, specifically failing to provide input to retirees.
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New York retirees filed a lawsuit to fight similar changes to Medicare Advantage plans. A decision was made that the city must allow this.
At a rally last week, dozens of retirees gathered in the Newcastle County Council meeting room to get wet in the rain to protest these changes. Several expressed frustration at the lack of response or action from their respective representatives and senators.
“I spoke for the state,” said former state attorney Marsha White.
“The idea that this was done behind our backs,” she said during the rally.
Retirees also came with their signatures. One read: and we vote. ”
