A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at 10:00 am before the Committee on Labor on LD 328 which MAR asked Representative Dan Shagoury of Hallowell to sponsor. Many public service retirees were promised during their employment that when they retired and started receiving a pension from MainePERS, their health insurance would be paid at 100%. As many of you know, when you became Medicare eligible at age 65, you are now required to pay for Medicare Part B. The present monthly premium is $185.00 which continues to increase on an annual basis. MAR’s President, Bill Laubenstein, will be at the hearing to testify in support of LD 328.
However, MAR also needs your help to get LD 328 voted affirmatively out of the Committee on Labor. To show support for this LD, please contact legislators on the Committee on Labor to let them know the financial burden that paying $185.00 monthly or $2,220 annually has had on your retirement. LD 328 reads as follows:
An Act Requiring the State to Pay a Retired State Employee’s or Retired Teacher’s Premium for Medicare Part B Under Medicare Advantage
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §285, sub-§7, ¶N is enacted to read:
- N. Beginning January 1, 2026, the State, through the commission, shall pay 100% of a retiree’s Medicare Part B premium under the Medicare Advantage plan identified and offered by the commission and available to the retiree as authorized by the commission if the retiree is not eligible for federally approved Medicaid services.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §13451, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
- 6. Payment by State for Medicare Part B under Medicare Advantage. Beginning January 1, 2026, the State shall pay 100% of a retired teacher’s Medicare Part B premium under the Medicare Advantage plan administered by the Maine Education Association benefits trust if the retired teacher is not eligible for federally approved Medicaid services.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State to pay 100% of a retired state employee’s or retired teacher’s premium for Medicare Part B under the Medicare Advantage plan beginning January 1, 2026.
PLEASE NOTE: Following is the website address which will give you the legislators’ names and contact information: https://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/LAB
You may also testify in person at the Public Hearing or submit written testimony before March 5th to https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/
Thank you for assisting MAR and fellow retirees with this matter.