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Corporate Thefts of Retiree Healthcare
Corporations across the country have been terminating retiree healthcare at an alarming rate Please send us your story and we will add your corporation to the list below.
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EMBARQ Cancels Retiree Health Insurance
On July 26, 2007, EMBARQ, a large telecommunications company headquartered in Overland Park, KS, announced plans to reduce its retiree health care coverage obligation by eliminating "medical coverage and Medicare premium subsidies for Medicare-eligible retirees and Medicare-eligible dependents, effective January 1, 2008." EMBARQ also "capped the maximum amount of life insurance benefits through the company-sponsored plan for qualified retirees at $10,000, effective January 1, 2008, and eliminated company-provided life insurance coverage for retirees who have benefits through a separate subsidiary company-sponsored plan, effective September 1, 2007."
This will affect the over 14,000 retirees of EMBARQ, formerly Sprint-Nextel, in 18 states. EMBARQ expects cost savings of this plan to be approximately $30 million in 2008. It is interesting to note that at about the same time the company announced this change to its retirement benefits, it "completed a restructuring program" that resulted in 420 employees being offered severance in the amount of $30 million (an average of over $70,000 per person). Could EMBARQ really be cutting the EARNED retiree benefits of so many to support so few?
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Recent Changes at Alcatel-Lucent Hurt Retirees--Again
For years, Lucent Technologies has been reducing its retiree's earned health care coverage, increasing premiums, deductibles and co-pays, and taking earned benefits away from its retirees. They also took away their employee's and retirees "death benefit" a non-insurance one time payment to a surviving spouse that equaled one times the employee's last year of pay.
And now it has happened again.
In a letter dated June 30, 2007, Alcatel-Lucent explained to its management retirees that it would be changing its prescription drug coverage to be similar to Medicare Part D. The company admits that retirees' "out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs will most likely be higher in 2008." In this letter, Alcatel-Lucent also announced the elimination of its Rx Only option for Medicare eligible retirees age 65 and older as well as the reduction of health care coverage for dependent children.
This should not be allowed to happen. We need YOUR support to pass H.R. 1322, the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act! Please visit http://capwiz.com/protectseniors/home/ and write to your Representative TODAY and let them know how important it is to save retirees' EARNED benefits!
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GM Announces Elimination of Retiree Health Benefits
Salaried employees and retirees of General Motors learned on July 15, 2008, that the company would no longer provide health benefits to retirees over age 65. The cuts go into effect January 1, 2009. Through this action, GM retirees are the first major casualty of the EEOC's decision earlier this year that allows companies to discriminate against older retirees by treating them differently than younger retirees.
GM will provide a $300 increase in retirees' monthly pension, however, ProtectSeniors.Org argues that this will not go very far when retirees need to shop for individual supplemental coverage in the open market.
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Kodak Retirees Receive News of Benefit Cuts
On August 1, 2008, Eastman Kodak Co. announced significant cuts to its retiree benefits starting in 2009. For those retiring after October 1, 1991, Kodak will end dental coverage and company-paid life insurance. They will also begin a 10-year phase-out of company contributions to medical coverage for dependents as well as begin to shift more costs to retirees for their healthcare, about one percent per year.
This will result in a minimum of a 10% increase in out-of-pocket costs for retirees who earned full benefits through their working years.
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