Court Rules State Retirees Can Stop Paying Health Insurance Premiums
From the Springfield State Journal-Register
State government retirees will no longer have health insurance premiums deducted from their pension benefits following a Sangamon County court ruling Thursday.
It will be months, however, before retirees will begin seeing a return of the insurance premiums they already have paid.
Judge Steven Nardulli issued a preliminary injunction Thursday that will stop the state from continuing to deduct health insurance premiums from retiree pension checks.
Chief deputy attorney general Brent Stratton said the withholdings should stop for checks going out Oct. 1 and later. Because the order will take time to implement, the changes can’t be in place by Monday, he said.
“The only reasonable expectation that we had coming into this hearing today was met,” said Don Craven, one of the attorneys representing retirees in their fight to stop the health insurance premiums. “The judge has ordered that all withholding be stopped as quickly as possible.”
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in July that state-subsidized health insurance is a protected pension benefit and the state cannot charge premiums for it. People who retired with 20 or more years of service were entitled to premium-free state health insurance.
Despite that ruling, the state continued to deduct premiums from retiree pension checks because the Supreme Court sent the lawsuit back to Sangamon County for further proceedings.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Springfield State Journal-Register
State government retirees will no longer have health insurance premiums deducted from their pension benefits following a Sangamon County court ruling Thursday.
It will be months, however, before retirees will begin seeing a return of the insurance premiums they already have paid.
Judge Steven Nardulli issued a preliminary injunction Thursday that will stop the state from continuing to deduct health insurance premiums from retiree pension checks.
Chief deputy attorney general Brent Stratton said the withholdings should stop for checks going out Oct. 1 and later. Because the order will take time to implement, the changes can’t be in place by Monday, he said.
“The only reasonable expectation that we had coming into this hearing today was met,” said Don Craven, one of the attorneys representing retirees in their fight to stop the health insurance premiums. “The judge has ordered that all withholding be stopped as quickly as possible.”
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in July that state-subsidized health insurance is a protected pension benefit and the state cannot charge premiums for it. People who retired with 20 or more years of service were entitled to premium-free state health insurance.
Despite that ruling, the state continued to deduct premiums from retiree pension checks because the Supreme Court sent the lawsuit back to Sangamon County for further proceedings.
Read more in our daily News Update...