Sen. Hickman introduces bill to help retired Maine state employees access health care coverage

AUGUSTA — Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, has introduced a bill to close a loophole that prevented the State of Maine from covering health care benefits to state workers who began working prior to 1986 and were forced onto a federal health care policy because of a spouse or ex-spouse. 

LD 591, “An Act to Require the State to Pay Medicare Premiums for Certain Retired State Employees,” is being worked on by the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Labor and Housing. “This legislation requires the state to keep its promise and fulfill its responsibilities to retirees who were hired before 1986,” said Sen. Hickman. “If the state said it would provide health care benefits for life to all state retirees in this pool, then the state needs to be impeccable with its word.”

“I fully support this legislation,” said Hon. Joyce Maker, former state Representative and Senator from Calais. “The state told employees they would pay our insurance for life. Evidently that changed and said we would have to apply for Medicare and if we weren’t eligible they would pay for it. Some of us that spent the majority of our lives working as a State Employee were not eligible for Social Security but our spouse was. That resulted in us having to pay for our Medicare benefits, not the State.”

“This bill was initiated when Sen. Hickman and I learned of a constituent who, because she was eligible to receive social security benefits and thereby Medicare under an ex-spouse’s work history, was disqualified from receiving the full benefit promised to her through her State of Maine retirement benefits,” said Rep. Tavis Hasenfus, D-Readfield. “Through this bill we are asking this committee to bring equity to this situation by fulfilling our obligations and paying the premiums individuals in this situation are forced into paying.”

“This will help countless retired employees across Maine,” said Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, who serves as Senate Chair of the Labor and Housing Committee. “With how much the cost of living and other expenses have risen over the last few years, easing this financial burden will allow retired state employees to spend less time worrying about medical expenses and spend more time with their families and enjoying the later years of their lives. It’s the least we can do for retirees whose pensions have not increased fully with inflation.”

“This bill is about fairness and keeping our promises that we made to state employees,” said Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, who serves as the House Chair of the committee. “Many retirees are currently struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. We have a responsibility to close this loophole and ensure that employees who worked hard to serve our state can receive the full benefits that they are rightfully entitled to.” 

Maine State employees hired before 1986 were promised health insurance coverage through a state plan. In 1986, the state began participating in Medicare, and all state employees hired thereafter paid into Medicare. A small pool of state employees who had been hired before 1986 fell through the cracks during this transition and were forced onto Medicare because of the eligibility of spouses. For some of those employees, this resulted in them paying for Medicare benefits out of their own pocket, often costing them thousands of dollars a year. This bill aims to fulfill the state’s original promise to state employees hired before 1986.

If you or someone you know has been affected by this or is in a similar situation, please reach out to Sen. Hickman by emailing him at Craig.Hickman@legislature.maine.gov or by calling his office at (207) 287-1515. 

The bill currently awaits a work session before the Labor and Housing Committee. 

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