Contained within the legislation, expected to be filed by January 1, is a provision which will allow the GIC to offer a group dental/vision plan to retirees. Special legislation is needed because, unlike the other insurance offerings provided by the GIC, the dental/vision plan will require retirees to pay the full premium themselves.

"Members should not be overly concerned about carrying the full premium of the dental/vision plan. Due to the group rate and the buying power of the GIC, we expect the premium to be very affordable," explains Association President Ralph White. "Dental coverage has become a major concern of our retirees, especially those members who have recently retired. Most active employees at the state level carry dental coverage and are forced to drop it once they retire.

"It is going to take a few months to iron out the details and move the bill through the legislative process. To be realistic, I think we are at least six months to a year away from having something up and running."

Affordable Plans

Officials with the state run GIC are providing technical support in drafting the proposal. Current plans are to model the plan after what is already offered to active employees, with the exception of orthodontic coverage.

"It made sense to approach the GIC up front in this process and ask for some assistance in crafting the bill from the people who will be responsible for running it," said Association Legislative Liaison Shawn Duhamel. "The key thing is offering quality, but affordable, coverage to retirees. Thankfully, the GIC has suggested some things that will accomplish that."

The full cost of the plans already offered through the GIC are $24.69 monthly for an individual and $61.06 for a family plan, including vision coverage. Retiree premiums, while still to be determined, are expected to rival those of active employees.

Since retirees will shoulder the full cost of the plan themselves, the only cost to the state will be to administer the program. Administrative costs have been estimated to reach between $150,000-$200,000 a year, far less than the multimillion dollar cost of the full plan.

Local Option Included

Members retired from municipal or county government should not fear that they will be somehow left out of the process. A key provision of the bill is a section that will allow the same type of dental/vision plan as the state's to be offered at the local level.

Currently, there are 72 school districts that belong to the GIC's Retired Municipal Teacher (RMT) Plan. They would automatically be included in a state run dental/vision plan. The nearly 400 city, town, county and district run insurance plans should be accorded that same opportunity.

"We have spent the past several years trying to come up with a dental plan for our members, but with no success. What finally caught our attention is a plan that Delta Dental markets to the municipalities for an employee pay-all plan," says Association VP Bill Rehrey. "We would take the same concept and offer it to local retirees. Due to the fact that there is no employer cost involved, I do not expect there will be much opposition from local officials.

"By using group rates retirees can opt into an affordable plan that will cover them and their families. I don't see who could be opposed to something that makes so much sense."