DOVER — After more than 10 months, the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee has sent its recommendations to Gov. John Carney and the General Assembly.
Following the enactment of Senate Bill 29 last January, the committee – comprised of cabinet members, lawmakers, state retirees and stakeholders – held more than 20 meetings where it conducted analysis of funding, eligibility and plan structure to help guide the state’s next steps in retiree health care.
The focus specifically surrounded how to reduce the state’s underfunded $8.9 billion other post-employment benefits liability for its offering of coverage.
While the group was charged with evaluating how to provide Delaware retiree benefits in a fiscally sustainable way, Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who served as chair of subcommittee, said a critical step was rebuilding trust with state retirees.
She applauded the open process the committee went through in its business, noting that the hundreds of public testimonies were made readily available and a website was created to consolidate all of the group’s meeting materials.