DOVER — After more than 10 months of diligent, meticulous work, the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee’s legislative recommendations have become law.
It’s been over 20 months since Delaware’s Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee was established by the General Assembly, and on Monday, Gov. John Carney acted on four of their recommendations; the bulk of the task force’s legislative package that had not yet been addressed.
The governor’s action on the legislation finalized the subcommittee’s initial legislative recommendations more than two years after Delaware retirees pushed back on the state’s attempted implementation of a Medicare Advantage plan for pensioner coverage.
“For decades, the State has been funding retiree health care on a ‘pay as you go’ basis, despite consensus that this is not a sustainable way to solve our (Other Post-Employment Benefits) challenge,” the term-limited governor said in a statement.
“The package of legislation I signed (Monday) lays out a path to a long-term solution. Until and unless a new approach to solving this challenge comes forward, future Governors and General Assemblies will need to stick with this roadmap and continue to step up the State’s annual contributions.”