HLS 25RS-625 ORIGINAL
2025 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 7
BY REPRESENTATIVE BACALA
INSURANCE/GROUP-STATE: Authorizes and directs the state Office of Group Benefits
to study and report to legislature regarding savings available from requiring eligible
participants to enroll in Medicare and options for plan provisions that could return
some of those savings to those participants
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To authorize and direct the state's Office of Group Benefits to study and report to the House
3 Committees on Retirement and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on
4 Retirement and Finance the total amount of savings the state could realize if eligible
5 plan participants were required to enroll in Medicare and include in the report
6 options for plan provisions and rate reductions that could pass some of those savings
7 back to such participants.
8 WHEREAS, Medicare, a national health insurance program, is provided by the
9United States government to qualifying citizens, including those age sixty-five and older;
10and
11 WHEREAS, most Louisiana state employees hired after April 1, 1986, are mandatory
12participants in this federally-subsidized insurance program; and
13 WHEREAS, current state employees have a portion of their income deducted from
14each paycheck to cover not only their federally-subsidized health insurance later in life but
15also their state-sponsored insurance coverage, meaning that, in general, state retirees have
16paid over the course of their career for two health insurance plans but may only ever utilize
17one of them; and
18 WHEREAS, Louisiana's state-sponsored health insurance plans are a self-insured
19program that currently serves as the primary payor on claims for participants, including
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HCR NO. 7
1Medicare-eligible employees and retirees who have not elected to utilize their federal
2insurance coverage; and
3 WHEREAS, the legislature finds it would be beneficial to the state fisc and to
4Medicare-eligible Office of Group Benefits participants to identify and capitalize upon
5opportunities to improve health insurance benefits for such participants while simultaneously
6creating opportunities for state savings; and
7 WHEREAS, one such opportunity may be requiring qualifying participants in Office
8of Group Benefits plans to enroll in Medicare, thereby shifting risk to the federal insurance
9plan and making our state-sponsored insurance plans the secondary payor on claims for these
10participants; and
11 WHEREAS, other such opportunities should be investigated to save the state money
12while maintaining the same or better insurance coverage for these participants; and
13 WHEREAS, options for routing some of the resulting savings to those participants
14should also be investigated, including the possibility of lowering premiums for such
15participants.
16 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
17authorize and direct the state's Office of Group Benefits to study and report to the House
18Committees on Retirement and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Retirement
19and Finance no later than December 1, 2025, the total amount of savings the state could
20realize if eligible plan participants were required to enroll in Medicare and to include in the
21report options for plan provisions and rate reductions that could pass some of those savings
22back to such participants.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Heath
24Williams, CEO of the state's Office of Group Benefits.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 7 Original 2025 Regular Session Bacala
Authorizes and directs the state's Office of Group Benefits to study and report to the House
Committees on Retirement and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Retirement
and Finance no later than Dec. 1, 2025, the total amount of savings the state could realize
Page 2 of 3 HLS 25RS-625 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 7
if eligible plan participants were required to enroll in Medicare and to include in the report
options for plan provisions and rate reductions that could pass some of those savings back
to such participants
Page 3 of 3