HB 90: State Retiree Health Insurance
2007 General Session

Sponsor: Rep. Del McOmie (R-H54, Lander); co-sponsors Reps. George Bagby (D-H15, Rawlins), Mary Gilmore (D-H59, Casper), Pete Illoway (R-H42, Cheyenne), Jim Slater (R-H46, Laramie), Jane Warren (D-H13, Laramie) and Sens. Ken Decaria (D-S15, Evanston), Kathryn Sessions (D-S7, Cheyenne)

HB 90 marked the fourth effort in five years to add some state assistance for retired state employees to help pay for their medical insurance premiums. HB 90 proposed that the state contribute a monthly amount for each year of state employment, the amount of which would be established and appropriated by the legislature, just as they now do for active service employees.

For fiscal year 2008 (from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008), HB 90 would have appropriated $3.355 million from the general fund to pay for a state contribution of $11.50 per year of state service (up to 30 years maximum) for retirees who aren’t eligible for Medicare, and $5.75 per year of service (capped at 30 years) for retirees who are eligible for Medicare. This translated to $345 per month for non-Medicare retired employees who had worked for the state for 30 or more years, and $172.50 per month for Medicare retirees who had 30 or more years of state service.

Proponents of HB 90 argued that retired state employees should be included in the state’s group insurance plan as a matter of fairness and decent treatment of retired employees. They cited information on the high premiums paid by retired employees, and noted that at least some retired state employees find it difficult to pay high health insurance premiums.

Legislators decided to amend the same proposal into the general budget bill, so the House Appropriations Committee, to which HB 90 had been referred, allowed the stand-alone bill to die without a vote. The final budget bill (HB 1/SF 1) did include identical provisions for state assistance to help pay medical insurance premiums for retired state employees as was proposed in HB 90, so this assistance will be available from July 1, 2007 until June 30, 2008, to executive, judicial, and legislative branch agency retirees, including retirees of the University of Wyoming and the state’s community colleges, who participate in the state employees’ group health insurance plan.

HB 90 INTRODUCED