Some state’s begin to stop paying retiree’s health benefits…..

The big picture: The decisions are separate from pension benefits. It’s easier legally to cut retirees’ health care benefits than pensions, which drives some of these decisions.

• North Carolina will no longer pay workers’ health benefits once they retire, starting with new workers hired in 2021.
• Kansas has asked retirees to pay their entire premiums, which have jumped to as much as $1,000 a month. And Iowa has capped its flagship university’s contribution to retirees’ health care.
• When Kansas made these changes beginning in 2017, three-quarters of enrollees dropped out. And the state’s retiree health care liability dropped from $6.1 million to $508,000.

My thought bubble: The problem of rising health care costs is even more dire at the federal level, but states — unlike the federal government — must balance their budgets….

More….