ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WDVM) — A rally was held in the rain at the Maryland State House on Wednesday. Retired state employees feel they have been shortchanged by having their prescription drug benefits taken from them.
Thousands of state employees feel they’ve been cheated. They want Annapolis to restore what they say has been unfairly denied them.
Former Governor Martin O’Malley reworked the prescription drug benefit for retired state employees in 2011 so it would default to the federal Medicare program, effectively denying them a benefit they say they earned when they signed up to work in state government. This affected state police, corrections officers and thousands of others in a broad range of functions for the State of Maryland.
Delegate Lauren Arikan from Baltimore and Harford counties is the Deputy Minority Whip in the House and is fighting to protect the state’s benefits.
“There was a budget item and it stripped away their prescription drug coverage,” Arikan explained. “It was kind of a backroom situation. There was no sort of public input permitted and many of the retirees had no idea.”
Retired employees get 1.8 percent inflation raises on fixed income but the inflation is at 9 percent. Retired employees will be forced to go back to work just to eat. Hogan is Governor of the 2021 worst state to retire in. He just built a multimillion dollars home with proceeds from his wife’s “self taught artist” paintings. The women didn’t start painting until Hogan became Governor and some how she made millions in the past few years. Nothing to see here move along orange man bad.
As usual. Thank a Democrat for doing this. Keep voting for the Democrats you morons
It was O”Malley, not Hogan who caused this. Do some research and get your facts straight! I’m a Democrat but I still plan the blame where the facts are. Our strongly democratic legislature (politicians) are the one’s who passed it. As Biden often says “come on man!!”
Better NOT touch my damn benefits !!!! Everyone better SUE the Hell out of the state !!!!
I can’t keep the benefit I was promised and worked for (36 years), but these people not working collecting “benefits” – handouts, get free medicine? WTF? our country has turned socialist for sure.
I was a correctional officer for 21 years. Retired in 2004. I was told when hired that I would only get 33% of my base pay when I retired because we get to keep all medical & perscription drug plans. Now they want to take that away but not raise our pension to 60% of base pay like Pa. That is sticking it to us without the vasiline. As for money for AFSCE, I will not give them any money to represent us in this lawsuit. They are getting paid and have already been paid. How about all the years they took our dues with PISS POOR representation when we needed it. They were a joke for correctional officers. I did better on my own because they did not know there ASS from a hole in the ground or was to concerned about making rank instead of battling for us. Maybe the stupid politions making these dicisions should try living off what we make a month.