2025 RGEA Spring Conference

Tracie Eubank on April 1, 2025

June 17, 2025 | Join us for this FREE event to meet other state and local government retirees and hear from experts on your health and retirement plans, pension and Social Security information, and more.

Let Your Voice Be Heard By The Senate Now!

Tracie Eubank on March 20, 2025

RGEA expresses deep concern that the Governor’s recently released budget does not protect the pension’s long-term stability or provide true inflation relief to government retirees who have struggled for years without cost-of-living adjustments.
 
Specifically, the Governor’s Budget does not meet the threshold of the actuarially determined employer rate as required by law in G.S. 135-8(d)(3a) and would underfund the pension by $206M over the next two years. Since the pension’s inception, this has only happened under one other North Carolina Governor, and it took several years for the pension and considerably more money to recover from this action.
 
Additionally, the 2% one-time supplement in the Governor’s Budget is far from addressing the 20% inflation our retired public servants have faced in just the past five years. It is well past time for a true cost-of-living adjustment, not a one-time pension supplement.
 
The foundation and strength of our public service workforce and the North Carolina Retirement Systems has been from our elected officials’ discipline in fully funding the pension and ensuring government retirees could live with dignity in their retirement years. We ask the legislature to rectify these omissions to ensure that the pension for public service retirees remains strong well into the future.
 
In addition, as you read this, the Senate budget is being negotiated and drafted. Last year, the Senate included no cost-of-living adjustments for government retirees. This must change in 2025, and we need your voice. Please take a moment to complete this call to action, as the Senate needs to know that government retirees need relief from inflation to meet their daily expenses and maintain their quality of life.

An Ambulance Trip Is Stressful: With MASA, the Cost Doesn’t Have to Be

Isaiah on March 5, 2025

People who require an emergency ambulance trip frequently ask the same question upon receiving the bill: “Why was the cost of the ambulance so high?” It might seem that a short ride to the hospital should cost about as much as an Uber ride. However, ambulance rides and Uber rides are two very different services.

Labor, Training, Readiness, and Equipment

Emergency medical teams require hands-on experience to handle emergencies effectively. In addition to the expense of training Emergency Medical Services personnel, at least two people are often necessary for each patient in an ambulance.

Ambulance users pay for the assistance they receive as well as for the readiness of the ambulances. Additionally, all equipment and staff must comply with local and state regulatory requirements, and the costs of maintaining them can accumulate. Treatment equipment in the vehicle used to stabilize a trauma patient before reaching the destination may include emergency ventilators, stretchers, cardiac monitors, infusion pumps, nebulizer machines, oxygen, and more.

Even if a patient does not receive additional care during the ambulance ride, the service does not itemize medications or other treatments that may occur during the transport. Patients are charged for either basic life support or advanced life support.

In fact, the least expensive aspect of an ambulance trip is the trip itself; the mileage fee typically makes up the smallest portion of the final bill.

Regardless of the cost, it is crucial to prioritize getting trauma patients to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible during an emergency. An Uber ride cannot match the care provided by an experienced EMS team equipped with vital resources.

Protect Yourself from a Costly Ambulance Trip

You can safeguard yourself from the expenses of emergency medical transportation. Medical Air Services Association (MASA) can protect you from catastrophic financial loss when emergencies occur at home or while traveling by covering your ambulance or airlift, regardless of age or medical condition. Services can be covered in full, without deductibles, co-pays, or dollar limits. MASA offers coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

MASA’s benefits extend beyond emergency transportation. Your MASA membership also includes Escort Transportation (allowing a loved one to accompany you to the hospital), Visitor Transportation (enabling a loved one to visit if you are away from home for over a week), Organ Retrieval/Recipient Transportation, Repatriation, Children and Pet Return, and more.

Your care is paramount in an emergency. Getting a MASA policy today can give you peace of mind from cost concerns. RGEA and AMBA make enrolling in MASA simple. You can even sign up online. Learn more at www.AMBAmedtransport.com/NCRGEA or call 800-956-1228.