Maryland Department of Budget and Management issued the following announcement on Sept. 3.
This transition has been in the works since Governor O’Malley and the Maryland General Assembly enacted comprehensive pension reform in 2011, with the original termination date of July 1, 2019 set to coincide with the federal government’s closure of the “doughnut hole” (coverage gap) under Medicare Part D; however, the Congressional budget deal passed in February accelerated that closure to January 1, 2019.
The Hogan Administration and the Department of Budget and Management fought to keep Medicare-eligible State retirees on the State’s prescription drug plan through the original July 1,2019 date to provide sufficient time to communicate this change to retirees and ensure a smooth transition to Medicare Part D coverage, but the General Assembly passed legislation over our objections this year that accelerates the termination of State prescription drug coverage for our Medicare-eligible retirees to January 1, 2019.
The administration is aware of the significant impact this change will have on you and the rest of our State retirees, so the Department of Budget and Management is launching a communication campaign to all Medicare-eligible retirees to notify them of the accelerated date so that they may begin to make plans to secure prescription coverage as of January 1, 2019. Initial notices will be sent out next month, with a series of reminders following thereafter offering resources to learn more about the various options available to you and explaining in detail the steps you will need to take to ensure continuity of coverage.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up