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Labor and Personnel Law eases process for enrolling retirees in Medicare
On Nov. 7, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill that makes it much easier for cities and towns to enroll their eligible retirees in Medicare.
Previously, if a city or town accepted the provisions of Section 18 of Chapter 32B, it was required to enroll all eligible retirees – meaning it would have to locate and enroll each eligible retiree – and then pay a fine to the federal government for not enrolling its previous retirees at the time that they retired. This served as a deterrent for many communities, and very few formally adopted the provision.
The new Section 18A allows communities to enroll only those who retire after the community adopts the provision – without any affect on those who had retired previously, and without having to pay a federal penalty.
The new law (Chapter 374 of the Acts of 2008) is expected to help communities to significantly reduce their health insurance costs for retirees.
Labor and Personnel Law eases process for enrolling retirees in Medicare
Law eases process for enrolling retirees in Medicare
On Nov. 7, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill that makes it much easier for cities and towns to enroll their eligible retirees in Medicare.
Previously, if a city or town accepted the provisions of Section 18 of Chapter 32B, it was required to enroll all eligible retirees – meaning it would have to locate and enroll each eligible retiree – and then pay a fine to the federal government for not enrolling its previous retirees at the time that they retired. This served as a deterrent for many communities, and very few formally adopted the provision.
The new Section 18A allows communities to enroll only those who retire after the community adopts the provision – without any affect on those who had retired previously, and without having to pay a federal penalty.
The new law (Chapter 374 of the Acts of 2008) is expected to help communities to significantly reduce their health insurance costs for retirees.
Written by MMA Legislative Director David Baier
