Free Health Care May Be Cut For State Retirees
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WBBM) -- The days could be numbered for free health insurance for Illinois state retirees.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Dave Dahl reports, right now, the state pays $473 million for retirees' health insurance.
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Only about 8 percent of those retirees pay anything.
The state plans to commission a study on how to make changes to the system, but state Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) says Illinois does need good employees.
"In order to have good employees for the state, we have to realize there are three ways we compensate them – their take-home pay, their health care, and their pension," Brady said. "On a different subject, we need to make sure that this analysis compares the private sector that we're competing against, as well as other state governments."
