Do you remember when I said that December would be a busy month? It turns out that things have been even busier than I anticipated – which is saying something.
I have three things to report to you this week:
- Our Central Mass. area meeting takes place today (Friday) at 11AM
- Breaking news from the GIC on the selection of CVSHealth as the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) for both Medicare and non-Medicare plans
- The latest news on our efforts to pass a Social Security WEP reform bill in 2022
Do you remember when I said that December would be a busy month? It turns out that things have been even busier than I anticipated – which is saying something.
I have three things to report to you this week:
- Our Central Mass. area meeting takes place today (Friday) at 11AM
- Breaking news from the GIC on the selection of CVSHealth as the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) for both Medicare and non-Medicare plans
- The latest news on our efforts to pass a Social Security WEP reform bill in 2022
Our Central Mass. area meeting takes place today at 11:00 AM at the Auburn Elks Lodge 2118, located at 754 Southbridge Street, Auburn, MA 01501. Area meetings are open to all Mass Retirees members, and you are welcome to bring a guest. Look to page 3 of the January edition of The Voice for a listing of upcoming events. The January newsletter should begin to arrive in mailboxes today.
As anticipated, the GIC announced the selection of a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) for the coming fiscal year – CVSHealth will become the PBM for both Medicare and non-Medicare enrollees alike. This means the Rhode Island based company has been retained for Medicare beneficiaries and replaces Express Scripts for non-Medicare enrollees.
Read a full report on Thursday’s GIC meeting by clicking here.
Following the recent announcement that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has also contracted with CVSHealth as the sole PBM, the bulk of public retirees and active employees in Massachusetts will now receive pharmaceutical benefits from the same company. We believe this represents good news for our GIC members.
To be clear, CVSHealth is the pharmacy benefits and mail order drug manager. You can continue to use whichever retail pharmacy you would like.
The other major news of the week centers on our ongoing efforts to pass legislation reforming the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP or federal “double dipping” law) through both branches of Congress before the end of 2022. To help with that effort, our President Frank Valeri and I were in Washington, DC this week to take part in a press conference and a hands-on effort to get a bipartisan deal done in the time we have left.
Wednesday’s event in front of the US Capitol was organized our Association, the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA), and the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE). We were joined by House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (MA), Congressman Kevin Brady (TX), Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX), Congressman Jodey Arrington (TX), and Congressman Lance Gooden (TX).
Click here to watch the press conference.
Neal and Brady – the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee for their respective parties – continue to work toward an agreement on a bipartisan compromise bill that would reform the WEP law. The general parameters of a possible agreement are as follows:
- Relief for current retirees whose Social Security benefits have been reduced by the WEP. This would increase the monthly Social Security benefit by $100-$150 a month, indexed to inflation.
- Fix the WEP for future retirees (those first eligible for Social Security on or after the effective date of the Act), by creating a new formula that fairly and accurately accounts for work covered by Social Security vs. under a non-covered public pension plan.
- Hold harmless current active employees from any adverse effect that could inadvertently come from the new Social Security formula.
Where the disagreement between Republicans and Democrats remains is on the issue of paying for the changes. Traditionally, all costs borne by Social Security are funded through the federal payroll tax (FICA). While retirees rightfully want the benefits they paid for and earned restored, there is a financial cost to the system in doing so.
The position of Mass Retirees is that the new Social Security formula should be equally and fairly applied to all workers going forward, with a 40-year grandfather clause in place to ensure that no current workers are adversely impacted. We also believe that rather small accounting changes can be made to the way the payroll taxes is calculated year-over-year, which will help accommodate the benefit increases proposed in the compromise legislation.
Time is running out to get this deal done, which is why we were in Washington this week. In addition to the press event and private meetings with Neal and Brady, Frank and I also had lengthy meetings with Congresswomen Katherine Clark and Lori Trahan, as well as Congressman Jim McGovern.
Clark was recently elected Democratic Whip for the coming Congressional session, the caucus’s 2nd highest ranking member. She currently serves as Assistant Speaker. McGovern now serves as the Chairman of the House Rules Committee.
All members of the Massachusetts delegation have pledged their support to this cause and are doing what they can to help pass a WEP reform bill this year. However, without a bipartisan compromise that gains the support of Mr. Brady and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, the bill will not pass the US Senate where we need 60 votes to pass a bill impacting Social Security.
This brings me to the issue of reforming the WEP law vs. fully repealing WEP and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). As I have explained repeatedly, while full repeal has been and remains our ultimate goal, we do not believe the votes exist in the Senate to pass such legislation in 2022 or anytime in the foreseeable future. This is the reason why our focus has been on reform of the WEP. Passing a full repeal bill through the House, only to see it die in the Senate, helps no retirees. Yes, it would be a giant symbolic step forward, but symbolism does not help retirees living on fixed incomes.
Unfortunately, this fact appears to be lost on those organizations and individuals who have taken an all-or-nothing approach – supporting only full repeal of WEP and GPO and actively opposing any compromise. In fact, over the past week an online group calling themselves the “Social Security Fairness” Coalition launched an email crusade that included flooding my TRTA counterpart Tim Lee and my personal email boxes with form letters demanding that we abandon our efforts to pass a bipartisan compromise.
The somewhat anonymous group, which appears to have been co-opted by a group of foreign service pensioners who have their own agenda when it comes to the WEP, wrongly believes that they can bully a full repeal bill through the US Senate. They seem to overlook or be willing to overlook the fact that even Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the Senate cosponsor of full repeal, publicly admits that the votes do not exist in the Senate to pass such a bill. Click here to read the Senator’s comments, as well as more about Wednesday’s press conference.
As Frank and our Executive Board have made clear, our job is to help pass the best deal we can get for our members. Based on our experience and expertise, we believe the only viable option to become law in 2022 or within the near future, is a reform of the WEP. We will not be intimidated by a faceless online group who have their own agenda. Nor will we mislead our members.
However if a bipartisan WEP reform deal cannot be reached before the Congressional session ends, we will support Chairman Neal’s intention to bring HR82 to the floor of the House for a vote. While such a vote would most likely be symbolic, we cannot allow another Congressional Session to end without momentum on this issue. Too many retirees have been harmed. Something must give.
The fact that we’re even close to moving a bill is due to the grassroots work done by retirees. Together with other like-minded public retirees from across the country, our members have helped keep these issues on the front burner in Washington.
We will keep you updated on any breaking news, as it happens.
Watch the video report by clicking here to play.
With gratitude,
Shawn
Shawn Duhamel
Chief Executive Officer
Mass Retirees AssociationPS: Membership renewals for 2023 continue to come in very strong. If you received your renewal notice, please try to renew before the end of December. To renew online, click here. Thank you!