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Permanent Health Insurance Moratorium for All Retirees

Level of Government: State

As a politically active member of the New York State United Teachers, I am writing to request your support for legislation that protects retired public employees from unilateral cuts in their health insurance benefits.

In recent years, the urge to contain or reduce costs has caused many public employers to abandon their long-standing commitment to provide health insurance coverage for retirees throughout their retirement years. Fortunately, with your support, we have been able to rely on a law that protects many retired educational employees from unilateral action by their former employers who seek to decrease their share of health insurance premium payments or to alter the benefits provided under their current health insurance plans. Without your continued support, this law would have expired on May 15, 2008. Thank you again for your support in extending this extremely important protection for another year (See Also, Chapter 43 of the Laws of 2008).

Unfortunately, however, because this benefit is subject to annual expiration, several employers have attempted to circumvent this statute in order to cut retiree health benefits arbitrarily (Mary Jones, et al, vs. Board of Education of the Watertown Central School District; Alice Baker, et al, vs. Board of Education of the Wappingers Central School District). Absent the annual extension of Chapter 729 of the laws of 1994, there is no legal requirement for public employers to continue to honor their previous agreements to provide health insurance coverage to their retirees. It is unfair that many retirees are forced to undergo months of uncertainty and stress while they await an affirmative action of the State Legislature to protect their benefits from the unilateral and capricious diminution by their former employers. And, as we have seen, there are still employers willing to try to take advantage of this situation despite the Legislature's long term support for this annual extender.

As such, I urge you to support the legislation and making this statute permanent (S.1512-A by Sen. Farley/A.29290-A by Asm. Weinstein). I also urge you to continue to support other public sector retirees by enacting similar legislation to protect their benefits from unilateral diminishment by their former employers and to establish a Joint Legislative Task Force to study and make recommendations on how to address this important issue (S.6649-A by Sen. Farley/A.9894-A by Asm. Abbate).

I look forward to hearing your determination on this matter.

Thank you for your past and continued support on this issue.

Sincerely,

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