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District hears proposal to move eligible retirees to Medicare supplement plans
Summary
Amaya Trust detailed a program to buy Medicare Part A for retirees without enough quarters, citing potential claims savings and a one-year 3% reduction on the district's next renewal; the committee discussed costs and timing and will consider action in October.
Chris Bailey, director of the Amaya Health Benefits Trust, told the Blackstone‑Millville Regional School District School Committee on Sept. 16 that the trust and Blue Cross/Blue Shield offer a post‑65 program to move retirees without free Medicare Part A onto Medicare supplement coverage.
Bailey said the district currently has 11 retirees and two spouses who remain on active employee HMO/PPO plans because they lack the required Social Security quarters to qualify for free Part A. "These individuals tend to drive more costs to the plan," Bailey said, estimating that the district’s affected retirees average about $20,000 a year in medical claims and that pulling roughly $260,000 in claims off the employee plan could remove nine to 10 percent of the plan’s total claims load.
The Amaya proposal would let the district buy Medicare Part A for eligible retirees and pay any enrollment premiums or penalties for late Part A pickup. As an incentive to adopt the program, Bailey said Amaya would take 3 percent off the district’s next underwritten renewal — an upfront reduction he estimated could be about $90,000 in year one — and that long‑term claim savings could reduce renewals by roughly eight to nine percent annually as the retiree claims are shifted to Medicare.
Committee members pressed for details about timing and cost. Bailey said the program would take effect July 1, 2022, but retirees must opt in during Medicare open enrollment (Jan. 1–Mar. 31). He also noted an important eligibility cutoff tied to hire dates: employees hired by a municipality or the state before March 31, 1986, often lack Part A credits and therefore are candidates for the program. Bailey said Amaya has implemented the model for about 35 groups and roughly 400 retirees and would lead outreach, provide draft letters on district letterhead, and use teletown‑hall presentations to explain the change to retirees.
The committee treated the presentation as discussion only; administration said the retiree‑program item will return as an action item at the committee’s first October meeting so members have time to review the detailed numbers and to allow outreach planning. No formal vote on the program was taken Sept. 16.
What happens next: administration will place the proposal on the October agenda as an action item and work with Amaya on retiree outreach materials and enrollment logistics.
