Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, sent a letter to TRS Board Chairman Jarvis Hollingsworth urging the TRS Board to lower insurance premiums for Medicare-eligible participants in TRS-Care Medicare Advantage and implement a onetime re-enrollment opportunity due to those premium decreases for retired educators who may have left the program.
In the letter, Patrick explained that other than a parent, no person is more important in the development of a child than an educator. He added that the Texas Senate has repeatedly stood with retired educators because they know they have given so much for the future of the state.
In 2023, Patrick spearheaded the allocation of $5 billion for cost-of-living adjustments for retired educators and $7,500 supplemental payments for retired educators aged 75 and over.
“TRS’ leadership has done a great job managing the pension fund and I thank them for their efforts,” said Patrick. “Now, TRS leadership has the opportunity to make another good decision and decrease insurance premiums for Medicare-eligible participants in TRS-Care Medicare Advantage.”
Sen. Huffman and Patrick have written a letter to TRS leadership to recommend they lower insurance premiums for these participants without sacrificing the long-term stability of the TRS-Care fund balance. If the board can reduce premiums sustainably, Sen. Huffman and Patrick also advocate implementing a one-time reenrollment opportunity for retired educators who left TRS-Care.
“My wife, Jan, is a retired educator, and I have seen up close the sacrifices that educators make on behalf of their students,” said Patrick. “Reducing health care premiums for our retired educators will make a tangible difference in their lives and I look forward to celebrating this victory with them. I am proud to stand with our retired educators and will continue to do so.”
Upon sending the letter, Sen. Huffman issued the following statement: “In 2023, Lt. Gov. Patrick and I worked with all senators to inject billions of additional dollars into TRS to provide a substantial stipend to eligible retirees and a much-deserved cost-of-living adjustment. Now, there is an opportunity to provide further benefits for our Medicare-eligible population within the TRS-Care program. I want to thank the Lt. Governor for working with me over the years to support our retired educators and I look forward to our continued work moving forward.”