
<p>Retirement insights from a Colorado PERA perspective</p>



<p></p>


A distant view shows a mountainous landscape with sloping peaks, green trees in the foreground, and a cloudy sky above.


<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.coloradopolitics.com/governor/colorado-budget-signing/article_76cb6ca7-535d-4261-bd04-7d9305c4e5f7.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Colorado Gov. Polis Signs $44 Billion Budget into Law | Colorado Politics</a></h2>



<p>After months of debate and legislative work, the State of Colorado officially has a budget for the next fiscal year. Gov. Jared Polis signed the $44 billion budget bill into law this week. Lawmakers had to cut more than $1 billion in order to come up with a balanced budget.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/despite-economic-uncertainty-americans-remain-confident-about-retirement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Despite Economic Uncertainty, Americans Remain Confident About Retirement, Survey Shows | Kiplinger</a></h2>



<p>Workers and retirees alike are confident they’ll have enough money in retirement even amid widespread uncertainty about the economy, according to a recent survey. The survey, from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research, found that 67% of workers and 78% of retirees are confident about retirement. However, survey respondents did express concern about changes at the federal level, particularly around Medicare and Social Security.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.nextavenue.org/possible-tariffs-on-prescription-drugs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">What Older Adults Need to Know About Possible Tariffs on Prescription Drugs | Next Avenue</a></h2>



<p>The federal government has proposed imposing tariffs on imported prescription medications, and that has the potential to affect many older Americans, who tend to take more medications than younger people. While there is still a lot of uncertainty about what the government will do, experts say drug manufacturers could face shortages and raise prices if tariffs do go into effect.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynrosenblatt/2025/04/15/caught-in-the-middle-the-sandwich-generations-financial--fears-about-aging-parents/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caught In The Middle: The Sandwich Generation’s Financial Fears About Aging Parents | Forbes</a></h2>



<p>Being a member of the sandwich generation—people who find themselves caring for children and aging parents at the same time—means potentially having to pay for a parent’s long-term medical needs while also putting kids through school. Here are some tips for finding resources that might help ease some of the caretaking burden.</p>



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<p><em>News You Should Know is a digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement.</em></p>


News You Should Know: Colo. Governor Signs $44 Billion Budget


<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/colorado-budget-cuts/article_21095d25-b442-45db-b75a-00bd4cd69f2e.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$43.9 Billion Budget Bill Introduced in Colorado Senate | Colorado Politics</a></h2>



<p>State lawmakers have been working to build out the budget for the next fiscal year while trying to fill a $1.2 billion funding hole, and they released their proposal this week. In total, the budget calls for $43.9 billion in spending with dozens of accompanying bills that cut or transfer funds to fill the budget shortfall.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://coloradosun.com/2025/04/01/amgen-enbrel-price-cap-lawsuit-dismissed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Enbrel Maker&#8217;s Effort to Stop Colorado from Capping Drug Price Dismissed | The Colorado Sun</a></h2>



<p>The Legislature created the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board in 2021 with the goal of reviewing the affordability of prescription drugs and capping the prices of medications deemed to be too unaffordable. Drugmaker Amgen filed a lawsuit trying to prevent the Board from capping the price of its autoimmune drug Enbrel, but a judge dismissed the suit.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/nx-s1-5341780/social-security-administration-identity-requirements" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Social Security Officials Partially Walk Back Plans for In-Person Verification | NPR</a></h2>



<p>After previously announcing that some Social Security beneficiaries would need to verify their identities in-person at a Social Security office, the Social Security Administration is updating its policy and moving its deadline. The agency now says the in-person requirement will only apply to people who are trying to access retirement, survivor, or auxiliary benefits and who are unable to verify their identity online.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/the-sec-invites-cryptocurrency-supporters-and-skeptics-to-the-table/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The SEC Holds its First Cryptocurrency Roundtable | Marketplace</a></h2>



<p>The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which enforces regulations in financial markets, held its first roundtable meeting on cryptocurrencies last month. The question at the center of the agency’s discussion is whether the SEC should regulate cryptocurrencies the same way it regulates stocks and bonds.</p>



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<p><em>News You Should Know is a digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement.</em></p>


News You Should Know: State Lawmakers Introduce $43.9B Budget Proposal


<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/08/15/nx-s1-5075659/medicare-negotiated-drug-prices-for-the-first-time-heres-what-it-got" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Medicare Negotiated Drug Prices for the First Time. Here’s What It Got. | NPR</a></h2>



<p>Medicare has revealed the results of its first-ever negotiated drug prices. Officials have been negotiating with pharmaceutical companies for months, and that process just wrapped up, resulting in discounts on popular drugs for diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and other ailments. The new lower prices for the first batch of 10 prescription medications will take effect in 2026.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/15/colorado-special-session-property-taxes-election-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Colorado Governor Calls Special Session on Property Taxes to Avoid Ballot Measure Fight in November</a></h2>



<p>Gov. Jared Polis called for a special legislative session to tackle the issue of property taxes in Colorado. Various advocacy groups had been calling on the legislature to take action and pass a bill to lower taxes rather than allow two tax-related initiatives to appear on the November ballot.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/size-looming-fed-rate-cuts-may-hinge-job-market-2024-08-02/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fed Rate Cuts Loom Large as US Job Market Slows Sharply | Reuters</a></h2>



<p>Prior to early August’s monthly jobs report, many analysts said the Federal Reserve would be likely to start lowering interest rates in September. That jobs report showed a noticeable increase in unemployment, signaling a weakening job market and all but guaranteeing a rate cut in the very near future.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.plansponsor.com/milliman-reveals-health-care-costs-for-65-year-olds-retiring-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milliman Reveals Health Care Costs for 65-Year-Olds Retiring in 2024 | PLANSPONSOR</a></h2>



<p>A new report highlights the rising cost of retiree health care. According to the Milliman Retiree Health Cost Index, the amount of savings needed to cover health care costs for a couple retiring in 2024 has increased by $7,000 in the past year if that couple is enrolled in original Medicare with supplemental coverage. On the other hand, retirees with Medicare Advantage plans need less money saved up in order to pay for care.</p>



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<p><em>News You Should Know is a digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement.</em></p>


News You Should Know: Medicare Wraps Up Drug Price Negotiations


<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/hhs-lowers-64-prescription-drug-prices-under-medicare-rebate-program" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HHS Lowers Prescription Drug Prices Under IRA Medicare Rebates | Fierce Healthcare</a></h2>



<p>The federal government released the latest list of prescription medications that will be discounted under Medicare because their prices rose faster than inflation. The list includes 64 drugs that will be available for lower coinsurance percentages as of July 1.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2024/06/28/lawmakers-managed-to-fix-social-security-in-the-1980s-but-those-fixes-wont-work-a-second-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reagan-Era Social Security Fixes Won&#8217;t Work This Time | Marketplace</a></h2>



<p>There have been plenty of headlines about Social Security’s dwindling cash reserves—the latest projections show the program is likely to run out of cash in about a decade. But the question of what, if anything, lawmakers intend to do about it remains. While past reforms may provide some insight, lawmakers will likely have to come up with some new solutions this time around.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-banks-suffer-steeper-losses-retain-large-cushions-annual-fed-health-check-2024-06-26/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">US Banks Suffer Steeper Losses, But Retain Large Cushions in Annual Fed Health Check | Reuters</a></h2>



<p>Every year, the Federal Reserve conducts a “stress test” to assess the financial resilience of the country’s biggest banks. This year’s test found the banks would be able to withstand severe market volatility and other economic factors while still keeping enough money on hand to lend.</p>



<h2 style="color:#000000;" class="wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/business/retirement/retire-advice-life-tips.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6E0.G3Q9.aN7ecjCdCYnK&amp;smid=url-share" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="broken_link">Stories About What Retirement Really Means | The New York Times</a></h2>



<p>The New York Times asked its readers to send in their perspectives, experiences, and advice on retirement. Almost 1,500 people responded, and their views on retirement show a wide breadth of sentiments—positive, negative, and in between.</p>



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<p><em>News You Should Know is a digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement.</em></p>


News You Should Know: Dozens of Drugs to Be Discounted Under Medicare


<p>Prices for many prescription drugs have been rising for years. According to <a href="https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2021/prescription-price-increase-report.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a 2021 report from AARP</a>, many of those prices have been rising faster than inflation, and that can be particularly challenging for retirees living on fixed incomes.</p>



<p>Colorado PERA, which offers pre-Medicare and Medicare coverage to public sector benefit recipients and their families, is joining other public plan administrators across the United States in urging Congress to take action and address the rising costs of prescription drugs.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.healthcareroundtable.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable</a>, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of which PERA is a member, <a href="https://www.copera.org/pera-on-the-issues/pera-joins-other-public-plans-urging-action-on-drug-prices">sent </a><a href="https://www.copera.org/pera-on-the-issues/pera-joins-other-public-plans-urging-action-on-drug-prices" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a</a><a href="https://www.copera.org/pera-on-the-issues/pera-joins-other-public-plans-urging-action-on-drug-prices"> letter</a> to congressional leadership in mid-March requesting lawmakers support a number of drug pricing recommendations put forth by the Senate Finance Committee.</p>



<p>Those recommendations include:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Allowing Medicare to negotiate Part B and Part D drug prices:</strong> Under current federal law, Medicare is not allowed to negotiate prices directly with drug manufacturers, so the government has to pay whatever price manufacturers set. By allowing direct negotiation, Medicare could secure lower prices for many expensive, name-brand medications.</li><li><strong>Penalizing drug manufacturers when a medication’s price rises faster than inflation:</strong> This proposal would require pharmaceutical companies to pay a rebate to Medicare when the price of a drug rises faster than the Consumer Price Index, a widely used measure of inflation.</li><li><strong>Capping out-of-pocket expenses for Part D prescription coverage:</strong> There is currently no hard cap on out-of-pocket drug spending in Medicare Part D plans, so retirees can end up spending thousands of dollars a year. This proposal would set the out-of-pocket maximum at $2,000 a year.</li></ul>



<p>PERA Director of Insurance Jessica Linart said prescription drug prices are among the fastest-rising costs associated with health care, and changes are needed to ensure programs like PERACare can continue offering coverage that’s within an affordable range.</p>



<p>“We often hear from PERACare enrollees who say the cost of medication is one of their biggest challenges in retirement,” Linart said. “We’re urging Congress to take up this issue and pass these much-needed reforms as soon as possible.”</p>



<p>Learn more about PERACare coverage <a href="https://www.copera.org/health-benefits-peracare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</p>


PERA Joins Other Public Plans Urging Action on Drug Prices


<p>Prescription drug manufacturers continue to raise prices. Meanwhile, Colorado recently announced updated plans for a program that aims to bring lower-cost options to consumers.</p>



<p>You might think these sound like old headlines. You wouldn’t be entirely wrong. PERA On The Issues covered <a href="https://peraontheissues.com/multiple-approaches-to-keeping-prescription-drug-prices-down/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the rise of drug prices</a> in January 2020 and last summer looked into executive actions that <a href="https://peraontheissues.com/can-an-executive-order-bring-down-drug-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aimed to keep prices down</a>.</p>



<p>So when GoodRX, which compiles data on medication costs, <a href="https://www.goodrx.com/blog/january-drug-price-hikes-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="broken_link">reported</a> that companies raised the price on 822 brand-name drugs by an average of 4.6% in January, it was news. But it wasn’t necessarily new.</p>



<p>“The rise in prescription drug prices is a trend we have been monitoring for years,” said Jessica Linart, PERA’s Director of Insurance. “When drug manufacturers raise prices insurers must pay those higher costs, which unfortunately get passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums.”</p>



<p>This is an issue that affects every type of insurance: employer-based and retiree plans alike.</p>



<p>PERACare uses multiple strategies to keep drug prices down to the extent possible. Some are administrative, such as using competitive bid processes to get the best pharmacy pricing from insurance carriers. PERACare staff works with consultants and other industry groups to monitor legislation that can impact drug costs.</p>



<p>Another strategy is to give retirees choices to keep costs down where possible. Incentivizing the use of generic equivalents instead of name-brand drugs and filling prescriptions through the mail, when possible, can save retirees money and help reduce overall plan costs.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Colorado’s Plans to Address Rising Prices</strong></h4>



<p>In January, The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing <a href="https://content.copera.org/drug-prices-continue-multi-year-climb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released an update</a> on a number of plans underway that address rising costs. These updates include:</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">Import Drugs From Canada</h5>



<p>Colorado has been developing a program to import some drugs from Canada, where prices are often lower than equivalent drugs in the U.S. This program originated in a bill signed into law in 2019. However, Colorado must coordinate and comply with federal regulations. The report states: “The Department estimates that Colorado will have an operational importation program by 2023.”</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">Give Prescribers Useful Information Sooner</h5>



<p>The Department has created a tool for people who prescribe prescription medication in Colorado. The first phase of the project helps prescribers assess opioid risks. The second phase, which the Department expects to be operational this summer, provides information like co-pays and drug prices so that prescribers can make cost-effective decisions for patients.</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">Target the Highest-cost Drugs</h5>



<p>Not all drugs are created equal. Some specialty drugs — drugs that are often complex or treat rare diseases — cost so much that they can affect the entire system. The report states: “an analysis of fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 claims data from Colorado Medicaid revealed that 1.42% of the prescriptions written to care for Medicaid recipients were so expensive, they represented 48% of total pharmacy expenditures.” Colorado is analyzing the impact these drugs have. “These numbers are similar to what we see with the PERACare plans,” Linart said. “Anything that can be done to moderate the pricing on specialty medications will be a benefit to retirees on those PERACare plans.”</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">See What Other States are Doing</h5>



<p>Every state across the country faces similar challenges related to rising prices. And every state is coming up with ideas to address them. The Department surveyed more than 431 bills it found in state legislatures nationwide and shared its findings for others to consider.</p>


Tag Archives:

News You Should Know: Colo. Governor Signs $44 Billion Budget

News You Should Know: State Lawmakers Introduce $43.9B Budget Proposal

News You Should Know: Medicare Wraps Up Drug Price Negotiations

News You Should Know: Dozens of Drugs to Be Discounted Under Medicare

PERA Joins Other Public Plans Urging Action on Drug Prices

Drug Prices Continue Multi-year Climb

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