House OKs Higher Health Insurance Costs for State Retirees

State retirees should brace themselves for higher health-care premiums. Illinois House lawmakers voted May 9 to reduce the $800 million annual cost of insurance for retired state workers by making them pay more for health care that some now get for little or nothing.

Under the legislation, retired state workers, judges, lawmakers and university employees would have premiums for their group health insurance program set each year by the Quinn administration.

The bill went to the Senate on a 74-43 vote.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the action unfolded as House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, and Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, implored colleagues to make the legislation part of a major effort to rein in billions of dollars in health-care for the poor, public employee pensions and the state’s budget overall.

“The prescription on the table is huge,” Madigan said, as quoted by the Tribune. “This is one small part of it. … If we can’t do this, what in the world are we going to be able to do?”

Madigan said the decisions in the coming weeks to are “not for the faint of heart,” but must be tackled to improve the state’s financial health, according to the Tribune.

Cross (R-Oswego) sought to allay concerns by pointing to safeguards in a new letter from the administration that said the retiree contributions for health-care would be determined on a sliding scale and consider length of service and ability to pay. The percent of health-care costs the retiree would pay also would be based on his or her pension level, the letter said. Pension amounts would be broken into seven tiers. The higher the tier, the more the retiree will pay.

Opponents of the measure contended the proposal would break the promises made to rank-and-file workers who retired under the belief their health care would be covered. But supporters countered that the growing price tag is unaffordable given Quinn’s call to cut spending dramatically.