Retirees’ health care bill still important issue

PEF Retirees’ primary legislative initiative this year was the Health Care Protection Bill (S6397/A.9722). Once again, Gov. George Pataki ignored our needs and concerns and vetoed it.

We feel it’s essential to link our health benefits with the PS&T contract-negotiating process, because it’s a more secure way of protecting our health insurance benefits than depending upon the administrative fiat of an appointed Civil Service panel.

Recent events have confirmed our misgivings. The state no longer pays for our Medicare Part B premium reimbursements from the state’s general fund. It now takes that money from its health insurance account, which is funded by the premiums all enrollees in the NYS Health Insurance Program pay for coverage.

This means we all have to pay higher premiums for our NYSHIP coverage.

However, the state expects to deposit its new federal subsidy for Medicare Part D into the state’s general fund.

If these hundreds of millions of Medicare D dollars went into the health insurance fund, they could offset part of our health insurance premiums.

Retired employees of NY state receive a reduced cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to our pensions. We can’t keep up with inflation and that diminishes our spending power. Increased medical costs and insurance premiums just exacerbate that problem.

We ask you to contact your state legislators this summer. Thank them for passing the Health Care Protection legislation and ask them to override the governor’s veto.

Tell them state government should demonstrate more concern for the elderly, and we will continue to support state legislators who share our view.

Please take note: the state Department of Civil Service has moved to the Alfred E. Smith Building at 80 South Swan St. in downtown Albany. The zip code is 12239.

Phone numbers for the Employee Benefits Division, which administers the health insurance program, remain the same. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.