'Devastating' cut could mean some retired Kentucky teachers pay thousands more in insurance
FRANKFORT, Kentucky – Many retired teachers would pay thousands of dollars per year more for health insurance under Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposed 2018-20 state budget, say advocates for retired teachers.
While Bevin’s proposed budget fully funds pension benefits for teachers for the next two years, it provides no state dollars for retired teacher health insurance.
This budget cut would hit teachers who have retired since July 1, 2010, and are not yet 65 – when teachers qualify for Medicare coverage.
“In 2010 we passed a ‘shared responsibility’ plan that required all of us to share a part of retiree health care so that this would never have to have this happen again,” said Stephanie Winkler, president of the Kentucky Education Association. “…Now this proposed budget would strip away the state funding and it means that anyone who retired after 2010 could potentially have to pay all of their health insurance costs.”
Read more: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/23/retired-kentucky-teachers-health-insurance/1055545001/