Will Governor Abbott declare TRS healthcare an emergency item in January?

            In 22 days, the 86^th Texas Legislature will convene in Austin.  Will Gov. Greg Abbott declare the healthcare nightmare Texas public-school retirees have been living since January an emergency item?  That is the focus of Rep. Terry Canales’ December 12 letter to the governor and the question most of us living that nightmare are asking.

            The Texas Constitution prohibits the House and Senate from passing any legislation within the first 60 days of the legislative session unless 1) four-fifths of the members of either chamber vote to bypass that law or 2) the governor declares an item an emergency.  Without a doubt, TRS healthcare is an emergency. 

            I have written extensively about how the 85^th Texas Legislature created this nightmare.  (Once again, I must stress that we are not just talking teachers here.  Although it is (mis)named the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, TRS is actually the retirement system for all public-school retirees, from teachers to custodians to secretaries to librarians to nurses to maintenance workers to bus drivers to classroom aides to sign-language interpreters to administrators.) First, they increased the deductible for those of us under 65 from $400 to $1500.  For TRS retirees who have a spouse on their plan, their deductible is now $3000—not $1500 per person but the full $3000.  In addition, that deductible applies to both healthcare and prescription drugs (except a list of standard, generic drugs).  And, we now have no copay until 100 percent of our deductible is met. 

            Take me, for example.  I avoided doctors throughout the year because of what the Texas Legislature has done.  However, there were two appointments I could not avoid.  The total cost for those two appointments was approximately $1400 after plan adjustments by the provider.  What does that mean?  That means I have had to make payments and pay 100 percent of those bills because I have not met my deductible.  TRS has not paid a single penny.  And I am one of the lucky ones.

            I have written a number of heartbreaking stories this year about TRS retirees who have suffered at the hands of our Texas Legislature.  Keep in mind that while they dramatically changed the “affordable healthcare” we were promised throughout our careers in the public-education system, the healthcare for those in ERS—the retirement system for all other state employees, including, of course, retired legislators—had no change in deductible.  Oh, and theirs was not $400.  It was $0 for healthcare and $50 for prescription drugs.  And it still is.  Guess what their monthly premium is?  That’s $0, too!  That is heartless.  It is unconscionable.  It is shameful.

            It is not only public-ed retirees who are suffering, either.  Countless public-education employees who are still working are struggling to make ends meet because of their healthcare costs.  Not so those blessed with ERS healthcare.

            Here are just a few more reasons why Gov. Abbott should have already declared TRS an emergency item for the upcoming session:

·         According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average inflation rate is 2.16 percent a year.  Nevertheless, most TRS retirees have NEVER seen a COLA (cost-of-living increase).  During the 2013 Legislative Session, legislators granted a three percent COLA, not to exceed $100 per month, to TRS members who retired on or before August 31, 2004.  TRS retirees had not seen a COLA since 2001 until SB 1458 was passed in 2013.  This means that any public-education employee who retired in the past 14 years has never seen a COLA, despite the inflation rate.  Never.

·         The State of Texas contributes only 6.8 percent to TRS pensions.  Remember that most Texas public-ed employees do not pay into Social Security.  Thus, our TRS pensions are our sole source of retirement income.  According to a July 24 article in Texas Tribune, the median state contribution to the public-ed retirees’ pensions for the other 14 non-Social-Security states is 19 percent.  That is just under three times greater than Texas’ contribution.  The state contribution for ERS—their own retirement system--is 9.5 percent. 

·         Over 30,000 TRS retirees have left TRS-Care (our healthcare) since January 1 when the nightmare began.

·         More later on what I have to do to have vision and dental coverage compared to what the state provides ERS retirees (AGAIN, which includes our retired legislators).

            Rather than summarize Rep. Canales’ letter to the governor, I am including it here.  It is powerful.  It is poignant.  It is on point.

            For an entire year, we have been living this healthcare nightmare, and Gov. Abbott has not addressed us about it.  Not once in an entire year, despite the stories, despite the suffering.  Rather, he has remained silent, as if our nightmare does not exist.

            So the question remains—will he declare our nightmare an emergency now?

Chris Ardis retired in May of 2013 following a 29-year teaching career. She now helps companies with business communications and social media and works as a sales coordinator for Tony Roma's and Macaroni Grill. She is also the retiree representative for McAllen AFT.  Chris can be reached at cardis1022@aol.com. (Photo by Linda Blackwell, McAllen)

All I want for Christmas is for the 86th Texas Legislature to restore what the 85th stole

            As I sit down to write this blog post, I can’t help but think about how difficult 2018 has been for so many of my fellow retired public educators—teachers, bus drivers, secretaries, librarians, classroom aides, custodians, maintenance workers, sign-language interpreters, nurses, cafeteria workers, police officers, and administrators.  And as I look ahead to 2019, I can’t help but hang on to a glimmer of hope that the 86^th Texas Legislature, which convenes January 8, 2019, will restore what the 85^th Texas Legislature took from us during the 2017 Legislative Session.

            They took our faith that the promises made to us throughout our careers in Texas public education would be kept.

            They took our affordable healthcare and created a healthcare nightmare.

            They took our belief that the state would offer us comparable benefits, through TRS (Teachers Retirement System of Texas, which is a misnomer since it covers all public-education employees/retirees), that all other retired state employees--including retired legislators--receive through ERS (Employees Retirement System of Texas).

            They took our trust that we were trading higher salaries throughout our careers for a decent pension and that affordable healthcare. 

            The 85^th Texas Legislature took so much from us.  The 86^th Texas Legislature has the opportunity to restore our benefits…and our trust in them.

            I have not been able to stop thinking about my fellow retired public educators because of what I have experienced.  All year, I avoided going to the doctor.  No annual physical and no doctor visits when my throat was so sore I couldn’t swallow and when my elbow, first injured in a serious car accident, caused excruciating pain.  Nevertheless, there were three visits I could not avoid as they could have led to physical conditions far, far worse. 

            Because of the 85^th Texas Legislature, I am still paying for all three of those visits because they took our $400 deductible from us and turned it into a $1500 deductible with no copay at all until we reach the entire $1500.  (For retirees who have their spouse on their TRS healthcare, that deductible is $3000—not $1500 per person but $3000 before a single penny is paid.)  Thus, I am required to pay 100 percent of these visits, with a TRS pension that has never seen a cost-of-living adjustment.  And just when I am within one month of paying these bills off, my deductible resets in January.

            Meanwhile, all ERS retirees—including our retired legislators—have a $0 deductible. 

            How any member of the Texas Legislature can find this equitable or ethical is beyond my understanding.

            As I look at what I have faced this year, at the hands of the 85^th Texas Legislature, I think about my fellow retirees who have faced far worse medical issues than I have, retired public educators who have been unable to get critical hip replacements because they cannot afford the out-of-pocket expense, who have had to deal not only with the physical suffering that comes with cancer treatments but with the emotional trauma of how they will be able to pay their monthly bills, and who have had to practically beg pharmaceutical companies for help because that $1500 deductible also applies to prescriptions. 

            We already know How the Grinches Stole TRS Healthcare.  All I want for Christmas is for the 86^th Texas Legislature to return what was stolen from us. 

 Chris Ardis retired in May of 2013 following a 29-year teaching career. She now helps companies with business communications and social media and works as a sales coordinator for Tony Roma's and Macaroni Grill. Chris can be reached at cardis1022@aol.com. (Photo by Linda Blackwell, McAllen)