GM to cut retiree health care for salaried workers under 65

[Bozita]

Source: Detroit Free Press

GM to cut retiree health care for salaried workers under 65
BY TIM HIGGINS • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • FEBRUARY 11, 2009

General Motors Corp. is reducing life insurance benefits for most of its white-collar retirees and cutting back on company provided-health care for some retired salaried workers younger than 65.

The cost-cutting move comes along with GM’s announcement Tuesday that it is cutting its worldwide salaried workforce by 10,000 and reducing U.S. white-collar workers’ base-pay by as much as 10%.

A GM employee compensation document obtained by the Free Press shows that GM is cutting company-provided health care coverage to retired salaried workers who are younger than 65 and eligible for Medicare.

A GM spokesman confirmed the change, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010. The change effects a small number of retirees, “a few thousand,” said Tom Wilkinson, a GM spokesman. He was unable to immediately provide an exact number of people impacted.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20090211/BUSINESS01/90211078/GM+to+cut+health+care+for+salaried+retirees+under+65

[CountAllVotes]

1. retirees less than age 65 eligible for Medicare ...

would this mean that disabled retirees eligible for Medicare must take the Medicare and wave good-bye to their health benefits?

Is this not singling out a specific group of persons; disabled retirees? How fair is this?

Where IS the Union? :mad:

Please correct me if I am wrong!

[Romulox]

2. Salaried workers don't have a union.

"Where IS the Union? :mad: "

[CountAllVotes]

3. they don't?

I didn't realize this.

more here fyi:

* Awareness of Eligibility Age—Many Americans do not know at what age they will be eligible for Medicare benefits. Most Americans become eligible for Medicare at age 65 (approximately 15 percent of beneficiaries become eligible by reason of a disability or specific disease, rather than age). The eligibility age has remained constant since 1965, when the program was established; however, only 38 percent of Americans said they would be eligible for Medicare at age 65, while one-third (32 percent) said they didn't know (see attached chart).

* Confidence in Health Care—American seniors (those age 65 and older) are more concerned than Americans under age 65 about their ability to afford prescription drugs, both today and during the next 10 years, and prescription drugs are also their biggest concern. A third of seniors are not confident that they are able to afford prescription drugs today, and 41 percent of them are not confident that they will be able to afford prescription drugs in the next 10 years.

http://www.ebri.org/publications/prel/index.cfm?fa=preldisp&content_id=474

Thanks for screwing over your disabled retirees GM. It shows you really do care a lot.

:dem:

[madmom]

4. Salaried employees are non union, specifically foreman and other white collar

jobs.The blue collar as yet have not been affected. They (GM) are forcing these people to go on the government tit.

[avaistheone1]

6. White collar workers are not by definition rich. It simply means their

work rules conform to different labor laws. I was employed as a white collar work in a different industries over a couple of decades - but never made big money or had any perks. I just worked alot of overtime and never was paid a dime for it.

[madmom]

7. Where did I imply they were rich?

[avaistheone1]

22. You didn't. I was just making a point.

[Psephos]

20. Actually, all the people who don't buy their products are forcing them to "go on the govt. tit"

They wouldn't do that if they had more revenue.

As I just showed, the blame game is easy. Just pick out one explanation for the demise of the company, instead of the complex web of contributing factors, and beat it like a rented mule.

[Romulox]

5. Might as well thank the American love affair with Toyota.

How can you blame an insolvent company for not having money? :shrug:

[williesgirl]

8. Hell GM is behind the curve. Wash Post did this to all disabled on the rolls for 2 yrs + in 2006.

I got hit on that one. Went to COBRA and that's ending so tried to go on Medicare and found out that if I waited longer than 8 months after they "terminated" me, I have to wait til July and pay a 20% penalty for LIFE on Medicare. Naturally, the caring people at Washington Post didn't take the time to let us know that. Just gave us the info on COBRA and I believe mentioned we might want to check with Medicare.

These fucking corporations are reprehensible. rec'd

[Downwinder]

9. Unless disabled under 65 is not elegible for medicare.

Move to Israel, we give them aid and they have national health care.

[CountAllVotes]

10. I'm more concerned about what is going on in the USA

GM is dumping its disabled retirees which is disgusting.

You or your kid or your mother or father could be next. This is setting up a very dangerous precedent for the future. I guess you don't care about the future.

:dem:

[tritsofme]

11. Sounds like they end up getting the same thing they would if they retired at 65.

If you are receive Medicare due to a disability and you are retired, then Medicare is automatically your primary insurance anyways.

It sounds like GM is cutting benefits for retirees anyways, so this sounds like GM following Medicare coordination rules like 90% of companies do.

[CountAllVotes]

12. no more supplemental insurance for disabled retirees

and it won't be easy to get, especially if they happen to need Part D now. There may be huge penalties involved as well. Who knows how much this will hurt the sick and disabled?

[sandnsea]

14. Oooh, this is part of the new Medicare programs

I vaguely remember, but there were warnings that this is what would happen. We know people who have retirement health insurance who insisted this would never happen to them. Republicans say they're worried about companies dumping insurance and letting people go on govt insurance - then they turn right around and create programs to make sure it happens.

[tritsofme]

16. Well if you have Medicare and are retired

and you are not a dependent on active spouse's policy, Medicare is your primary insurance.

Anything your employer gives you in retirement is basically goodwill. More and more companies these days are just throwing their retirees into Medicare without any sort of supplemental coverage.

[sandnsea]

17. No it is not "goodwill"

It is a benefit workers gave up raises to get. Throwing retirees into an inferior Medicare group product is not something we have to accept just because "more and more companies" are doing it.

When did people lose value in the work they do?

[tritsofme]

18. I'm not saying I agree with the practice.

All I'm saying is that companies are not legally obligated to provide any health benefits in retirement, and unfortunately, many more are not.

Medicare alone doesn't cover as much and as many things as many people think.

[Mari333]

13. and so it goes

[jberryhill]

15. Good

You know why we don't have a decent health care system in this country?

"I got mine."

That's why.

[Lasher]

19. That's not a good way to promote health care.

Resenting others who have it.

[jberryhill]

21. My plan is fine

You're right, I should be happy with my coverage and not give a crap about anyone else. Being self employed, I pay for it out of my own pocket.

So, thanks for straightening me out. I got mine. Too bad for the uninsured.