Approximately 40,000 retired public sector employees have sued New York State over an increase in health insurance rates.  The suit was recently filed in the Albany County State Supreme Court according to the article “Retirees Sue State Over Health Insurance Hike” by Rick Karlin found on TimesUnion.com.

The president of the Retired Public Employees Association, Stan Winter, speaks for the group when he says the Governor had no right to raise personal health insurance rates for these retirees.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials have been named defendants.  The rate increase brings the employee share from 10% to 12% for singles and 25% to 27% for family plans.  This increase seems unreasonable to the retirees since it could add up to thousands of dollars over time and many of them are on fixed incomes.

Millions of Americans across the nation are paying more for their health insurance and many employers are not contributing at all, while some are dropping health insurance benefits altogether.  The Governor is in a tough spot as health care costs rise.  Earlier in 2011, the Governor’s office pulled back on a previous plan to raise health insurance rates for government retirees.  The rate increases are similar across industries in the nation offering health insurance benefits.

Written by Sam Tabes

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