Delaware
Group recommends discontinuing Medicare Advantage for state retirees
A working group charged with addressing state retiree healthcare benefits recently recommended that Delaware no longer consider a Medicare Advantage plan moving forward.
The General Assembly established the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee a year ago in response to concerns about retiree healthcare benefits for current and retired state workers, and how to address a growing unfunded liability for those benefits. A 2022 attempt to transition from a publicly managed Special Medicfill Supplement Plan to a Delaware-specific Medicare Advantage plan generated strong opposition from state retirees and an ensuing court challenge to the plan by RISE Delaware.
The group’s other recommendations include:
• Continue contributing 1% of general fund from the prior year to the Other Post Employment Benefit fund
• Increase OPEB pre-funding from 0.36% of payroll to 0.5%, then increase by an additional 0.25% of payroll each fiscal year until it reaches 10%
• Ensure that current Medicare-eligible and pre-Medicare state retirees and state employees who retire prior to Jan. 1, 2025, will be entitled to Special Medicfill/Rx benefits with no changes to the state share percentage of payments when they are Medicare eligible
• Limit changes to plan design, eligibility requirements or contribution share/percentage to workers hired on or after Jan. 1, 2025
• Solicit public comment before the State Employee Benefits Committee holds a public vote to adopt the final proposal for retiree healthcare plans
• Research and measure the cost of state-sponsored healthcare benefits for three subgroups: current workers, and eligible pensioners who are ineligible for Medicare and those who are eligible for Medicare
• Address the issue of healthcare pricing in Delaware, including statutory, regulatory and administrative changes in 2024 to bring more transparency, consistency, affordability and sustainability to healthcare prices and price growth.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — People in Delaware County said it feels like new housing developments are popping up on every corner.
WSYX
“What haven’t you noticed, right? The whole area just exploded,” said Scott Shonebarger.
Scott Sanders, the executive director of the Regional Planning Commission, said companies like Intel and other industries are a main driver for thousands of people moving to Delaware County.
With the big boom comes an urgent need for more housing.
John Wicks is the developer at Real Property Design and Development.
He has spent over a decade building homes for families in Delaware County.
Wicks said the Olentangy School District is one of the hottest spots for new homes.
“I started with one high school up until the 90s, then now we’re up to four up to five different high schools so it’s just a big draw,” said Wicks. “It’s a beautiful community.”
The district has grown into the fourth largest in Ohio with a new elementary school opening next year, and a fifth high school in 2028.
Wicks said the growth has presented some challenges over the years like labor shortage and some opposition.
“It’s become a big issue for a lot of people that live in and around these areas. They tend to oppose new growth and new development, so restrictions have gotten a little bit harder. Costs have obviously gone up over the last 20 years,” said Wicks.
The planning commission says between 275,000 and 350,000 people could call Delaware County home by 2040.
That’s up from 214,000 in 2020.
Scott Shonebarger said he supports growth but wonders when is enough.
“I mean to a certain extent I think you know at some point right you have to have some sort of boundaries I think, getting into the fact that now you have five high schools,” said Shonebarger. “What’s the limit?”
Police in Wilmington, Delaware, shot and killed a 19-year-old man Wednesday night.
The incident happened in a residential area near 24th and Jessup streets just after 11 p.m., Wilmington police said in a news release. The person who was shot has not been publicly identified.
Officers were monitoring a large crowd gathered outside when they saw a man exit a home with a handgun and point it toward the crowd, police say.
When officers approached the man, he ran away and a foot pursuit began, police say.
At some point in the chase, an officer fired their weapon and hit the 19-year-old. The man was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
Police say they recovered a loaded gun from the man and that the officer was not injured.
Video filmed at the scene shows a crowd of residents gathered outside after the shooting.
Police are asking anyone with more information to come forward. The shooting is under investigation by the Delaware Department of Justice and Wilmington police.
Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen L. Valihura announced Wednesday that she will lead a new corporate law institute at the Wilmington University Farnan School of Law.
She will step down from the bench of Delaware’s highest court in late July, after choosing not to seek reappointment at the end of her 12-year term. She revealed her plans for the next phase of her legal career in a special session of the court in Wilmington.
As well as joining the Wilmington University law school faculty, Valihura will be the founding director of the school’s new Corporate Law, Governance and Practice Institute. …
-
Los Angeles, Ca49 minutes agoJury says it is deadlocked in trial of man accused in Palisades Fire
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoScene active as police shoot, kill man on Detroit’s west side
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoCivil grand jury report warns of wildfire risk at SF’s Glen Canyon Park
-
Dallas, TX1 hour agoIvory Coast advances at World Cup, how to buy Ivory Coast tickets
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMen used fake credentials to enter Brazil vs. Scotland match at Miami Stadium, deputies say
-
Boston, MA2 hours ago3 arrested after trying to break into downtown building, Boston police say – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoRTD to bring back BroncosRide bus service after 5-year suspension
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoFOLLOWUP: Sound Transit Board finalizes $400+ million spending installment for West Seattle light rail
