Hello council members, I know this is a tough time budget-wise for Menlo Park. The city might be able to find a big cost savings by moving all of our Medicare-age retirees onto individual Medicare plans via one of the Medicare exchanges out there. I don't know what the city's OPEB liabilities & yearly costs for retiree health care are, but if they're like other SALGs across the country, there can be a sizeable bill every year to support retiree health care costs. The city can support retirees moving into individual plans with a Health Reimbursement Account they can use to purchase coverage. It can define the funding amount to match what it can afford while giving retirees access to a wider range of plan options that they can choose to suit their own circumstances. Plans actually tend to be cheaper overall & the trend line for premium price increases is lower than in group coverage. I used to work for one of the Medicare exchanges and saw this result time and again. The process is a bit painful for everyone concerned & retirees are at first quite worried about what's happening but it does save the government a bunch of money while giving retirees really good health care coverage options. Please feel free to reach out to me if you would like more information about how it all works. I can also put you in touch with my former employer, Willis Towers Watson, if you want to explore what the move would look like for retirees in terms of coverage options, how much funding would be required to ensure they afford the coverage they need, and the potential savings for the city. Sincerely, Christine Holland 530 Pope St. Menlo Park 94025 Received on Tue May 19 2020 - 11:32:59 PDT
