Question of the Week: What should the state retiree benefit panel recommend to the governor?

Here is the Question of the Week:

The Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee, tasked with providing recommendations on proposals for retired state workers’ coverage, met Thursday and considered several motions opposed by committee members who are part of the governor’s administration. 

A motion to remove Medicare Advantage from consideration was presented by committee vice chair Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, and opposed by Department of Finance Secretary Rick Geisenberger, who noted the subcommittee’s job is to evaluate retiree health care options in a fiscally sustainable way. Claire DeMatteis, committee co-chair and Secretary of the Delaware Department of Human Resources, said the motion altered the committee’s authority that is limited by state law. The motion that Medicare Advantage be taken off the table was approved. Another motion was passed recommending the state follow its previous format of a three-year contract with two optional one-year extensions.  

The subcommittee meets again Sept. 28, and its report is due to Gov. John Carney and the legislature by Oct. 1. 

How much say should state workers have over what the state offers them in retirement benefits? What is currently missing from the equation that should be considered? 

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