Some retired North Carolina state employees will save on health care costs

RALEIGH -- As many as 150,000 retired state workers will save a little money this year on health care costs, officials said Wednesday when they announced changes to a benefits plan for older retirees.

The state government also stands to save thousands of dollars on the deal, which N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell said will slightly decrease premiums in the state’s Medicare Advantage plan.

Last year, the state paid $120.65 a month for each of those 150,000 retirees on the Medicare plan. This year, that will drop to $120 a month. That equates to savings of around $1.2 million.

The changes will mostly help the state budget, since retirees on this plan don’t pay for their own health care costs. But Folwell said retirees with dependents on their plan do pay, and so their bills will be a little smaller.

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