DELAWARE - Twenty-Seven former Delaware state legislators and representatives have sent an open letter to Governor John Carney opposing the state's plan to privatize retirees' Medicare coverage by switching to the Medicare Advantage Plan.
The legislators say that this would effect the insurance for 30,000 retirees and dependents.
"We are particularly concerned, given the findings of your own consultants, that privatizing retirees’ benefits by switching to Medicare Advantage will have much less impact on the unfunded liability in the State’s healthcare fund than other changes," wrote the legislators. "They found that changes to eligibility for retirement healthcare benefits would have a far greater impact [to the unfunded liability] than privatizing traditional Medicare."
The legislators say that the unfunded liability of the state's healthcare fund should not be the only thing they take in to consideration, because the law requires that they choose the best plan in the interests of both the state and its pensioners. They say that the Medicare Advantage plan
- delays and denies medically-necessary care ordered by their doctors;
- requires that retirees request pre-authorization for 2,030 procedures and medications;
- charges deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and “cost-sharing” fees;
- forces retirees to use “in-network” doctors instead of their own; and
- prevents retirees from getting treatment at specialty hospitals that do not accept Medicare Advantage;
The letter closes by saying, “Even in the worst of times, we kept our promises to our retirees and made sure that their excellent healthcare benefits were secure. Now it is your turn to do the same for those who went before you.”