CRA chairman Juan M. Sablan in an interview last Friday said he provided their group’s board members with copies of House Bill 17-77 so they could study the proposal.
They will meet at 5 p.m., Thursday, at the Commonwealth Development Authority office on Middle Road to discuss the bill and decide whether to support it.
H.B. 17-77, which remains pending in the House of Representatives, is supported by the Fund which said it will lighten the CNMI government’s burden.
The bill will repeal Section 8363(a) of the Commonwealth Code so the Fund can negotiate an affordable insurance coverage for government employees and retirees.
The bill will allow the government to align the retirees’ insurance coverage with that of the active government employees so the Fund can negotiate for a more affordable one-group coverage.
Sablan said although the CRA board has yet to receive comments from their members, he has already heard the concerns of some retirees about the measure.
They fear it will reduce their insurance benefits, he added.
Sablan, who has been retired for 15 years now, said the bill involves a very important issue for the retirees.
That is why they need to keep their members well-informed about it.
“I don’t want my benefits reduced. I paid for them while I was employed,” Sablan said.
Fund Administrator Richard Villagomez earlier said that H.B. 17-77 will not reduce the coverage for retirees.
He said it will protect the retirees’ life insurance benefits.
Sablan said their group will hold a general membership meeting next month to tackle the issue and come up with a position on it.
