Since 1993, when former Governor John McKernan treated the Maine State Retirement System (MSRS) as a discretionary piggy bank to balance the state budget, many Maine lawmakers have cast a greedy eye at educators’ health benefits.

Every hard-won gain at the bargaining table, every hard-fought victory at the Legislature only seems to make these benefits a more tempting target. Recently, Governor Baldacci suggested that the MEA Benefits Trust Prescription Drug Plan be rolled into a state-run program.

Since the Retirement Raid of 1993, depending on the tenor of the subsequent Legislatures, some gains have been made and a lot of ground has been lost:

Ì Small pay increases come at the price of crushing workloads;

Ì Educators’ support for higher student standards has been offset by a diminishing voice in professional working conditions;

Ì Incremental increases in retiree health benefits have been cancelled out for the many teachers overshadowed by dramatic increases in early retirement penalties;

Ì Support professionals from pre-K to higher education work at jobs that don’t pay a "living wage" because it’s the only way they can afford health insurance.

Now, once again, our health insurance benefits as provided by the MEA Benefits Trust have come under attack. This time, the proposal was to strip the prescription drug plan out of the Trust and roll it into a state-run plan. After meeting with Governor Baldacci to educate him regarding the structure of the MEA Benefits Trust, how it has worked over the years to save the State and local communities a significant amount of money, and why it so critically important to more than 70,000 educators and their families across the State, the Governor agreed to reconsider his proposal. MEA leaders, MEABT leaders, and the Governor’s office are currently working together to identify mutually agreeable ways that the State Health Insurance Plan, the University of Maine Health Insurance Plan, and the MEABT can work together to improve the quality and reduce the cost of health insurance for all public plans.