You asked (1) who decides what retired teachers' health benefits are and (2) why retired teachers are not included in the State Employee Health Plan.

HEALTH BENEFIT DECISIONS FOR RETIRED TEACHERS

Retired teachers can receive health coverage in one of two ways. Those not eligible for Medicare Part A receive health insurance coverage through the local school district where they were employed when they retired. The cost and benefits in local board plans vary from district to district and are a matter for collective bargaining between local boards of education and unions representing active teachers. The state subsidizes the cost of the local board plans at the rate of up to $ 110 per member per month ($ 220 monthly for a member and spouse).

Retired teachers who are eligible for Medicare Part A may join a plan sponsored by the Teachers' Retirement Board (TRB). The TRB determines the benefits available from these plans. According to Bill Sudol, the TRB's administrator, the board designs the state plans based on their costs and on funding constraints.

State law allows the board to offer one or more basic plans for which the retired teacher must pay 25% of the premium cost, and one or more optional plans for which the retiree must pay 25% of the basic plan premium cost plus the difference between that cost and the optional plan's cost (CGS § 10-183t). Currently, retired teachers eligible for the TRB plan may choose from (1) a traditional indemnity plan with prescription coverage; (2) a traditional indemnity plan with prescription and dental coverage; or (3) a traditional indemnity plan with prescription, dental, vision, and hearing coverage.

RETIRED TEACHERS IN THE STATE EMPLOYEES' HEALTH PLAN

Retired teachers eligible for Medicare Part A could theoretically be covered by the Medigap plan the state offers to retired state employees, obviating the need for a separate TRB plan. Sudol says the TRB has explored with the comptroller the possibility of merging the two plans. But he says the state plan is more expensive than the TRB plan both for the state and for retired teachers. Because the law requires retired teachers and the state each to pay 25% of the cost of the basic TRB plan (the remaining cost is picked up by the Health Insurance Premium Account, which is funded by contributions from active teachers), the TRB decided the state employee plan would be too costly.

JL: ro