By Joseph Edelen

DOVER — The recommendations of the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee are continuing to make way in the General Assembly, as one of the latest proposals passed the House of Representatives Thursday.

House Bill 330, which is prime sponsored by subcommittee vice-chair Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, is one of six bills that would carry out recommendations developed over the group’s 10-plus months of work.

The legislation would increase the amount of the annual appropriation to prefund future state employee retiree health insurance.

The appropriation – which is a required contribution to the Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund – would need to be included in the expenditure proposal the Office of Management of Budget director submits to the governor for his recommended budget bill.

House Bill 330 also continues to allow the allocation of an annual payment to the Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund equivalent to 1% of the operating budget from the previous fiscal year, as outlined in a one-time supplement bill.

In the fiscal year 2025 budget bill – which passed both houses of the General Assembly Thursday - $56 million was allocated to cover future retiree health care costs.

The Other Post-Employment Benefits fund liability currently sits at an estimated $8.9 billion; $8.4 billion which is unfunded. If retiree health care is not addressed, lawmakers and state leaders anticipate the liability to grow to $20.7 billion by 2042.

In the 2024 legislative session, Rep. Baumbach has introduced a number of measures that build off Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee recommendations.

Two of those proposals, House Bills 281 and 282, await action from Gov. John Carney and would respectively repeal the state’s ability to solely offer a Medicare Advantage plan for pensioner care and improve transparency on the State Employee Benefits Committee.

Rep. Baumbach has also introduced measures to adjust the state coverage of health insurance premiums for pensioners hired on or after Jan. 1, 2025; create a state retiree coordination of benefits policy; and to provide pensioners hired before Jan. 1, 2025, with coverage that mirrors the currently offered Special Medicfill Medicare Supplement plan.

“With the introduction of these three measures, we’ve now successfully translated all seven RHBAS recommendations into meaningful legislation,” Rep. Baumbach said in a statement after the measures were introduced in May.

“We arrived at these recommendations through a collaborative, all-hands-on-deck approach, recognizing that while compromises were necessary, we’re implementing them in a responsible, phased-in manner. This ensures that we can continue delivering on our commitment to retirees while safeguarding the long-term viability of our benefits program.”

Those three bills also await governor action.

After House Bill 330’s passage in the House Thursday, it now heads to the Senate for further consideration.