Wednesday, May 29, 2013

State Retirees Want Alternatives For Medicare Providers

Illinois’ decision to provide Medicare-eligible state retirees with private insurance, called a Medicare Advantage policy, has come under fire from union representatives who say they want the opportunity to choose federal coverage.
“We seek options,” Tom Ryder of the Illinois State Employees Association Retirees (ISEAR), said Monday at a meeting with the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. “We have to face a choice forced on us by someone who did not represent us.”
A Medicare Advantage plan provides Medicare benefits to eligible state retirees through a private insurance company instead of the federal government.
“Our members will be forced into state-sponsored Medicare,” said Linda Brookhart of the State Universities Annuitants Association. “We suggest you offer a choice to continue (federal) Medicare with a state-sponsored supplement.”
The union requests came as Medigap representatives made a case for using their insurance instead of contracting a private company for a Medicare Advantage Policy. According to yesterday’s speakers, the state could double the amount of money saved if Medigap insurance were used over a Medicare Advantage plan.   
Illinois is expected to save $116 million annually for making the switch to a Medicare Advantage policy.
Lawmakers said they want to review the state’s plans in one more meeting before Medicare supplement insurance changes are made.
“We want to see the (bid specs) before they go out,” State Rep. Raymond Poe (R-Springfield), a member of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, said Monday. “Most of my callers are retirees. They are quite concerned. It seems someone from AFSCME negotiated a contract that’s forcing them into a Medicare Advantage (plan). They would like to see different options.”
Not all state retirees are represented by AFSCME, with 6,000 retirees being represented by ISEAR. Officials at the Department of Central Management Services say that although the deal with AFSCME calls for a Medicare Advantage plan, the state can still provide retirees not represented by the union with other options. 
Last week, lawmakers questioned whether a Medicare Advantage policy would limit retirees' access to networks of doctors.
http://progressillinois.com/news/content/2013/05/21/state-retirees-want-choices-medicare-providers-including-federal-coverage?goback=%2Egde_84467_member_243980596

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