A group of four Maryland government retirees sued the state and Gov. Larry Hogan on behalf of fellow retirees seeking to stop Maryland from moving them from a state prescription drug plan to a much more expensive federal plan.
The four retirees asked Baltimore City Circuit Court to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the state forcing them to enroll in the federal Medicare Part D plan when open enrollment starts Oct. 15.
They’re also seeking a trial in an effort to require the state to continue providing them with state-sponsored prescription drug coverage.
The move to the federal prescription drug plan is part of state pension reform passed in 2011, but it caught many retirees off guard. Many said they heard nothing about the change until they received letters from the state budget office last spring. They have flooded lawmakers’ phones and started a Facebook page lambasting the plan, which they say will send their medications costs skyrocketing.
“We are trying to figure out the best way to stop it so we can regroup and figure out how to help these seniors on fixed incomes facing costs they won’t be able to afford,” said attorney Deborah Holloway Hill, who is representing the retirees along with Breon Johnson in the suit filed late Monday.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Andrea K. McDaniels over at the Baltimore Sun