Retiree health care goes private to cut costs despite concerns 😳 YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED

If you are retired, or hope to be in the future and your employer “promised”, “committed to”, or otherwise caused you to believe that part of your security in retirement would be health insurance, you should read this.

I reproduced the entire article because it captures beautifully the pure bullshit that is thrown at retirees while they are being stabbed in the back. These retirees and millions of others like them have every right to be concerned.

Ask yourself; exactly how will a private exchange benefit retirees AND save the employer money at the same time? Where does the money come from to do this?

Well, it comes from the retirees pockets in the form of higher out-of-pocket health care costs, higher premiums or a combination of both and that loss of spendable dollars gets worse as the years go by.

These plans are often sold on the basis that retirees will have more choice  Who says they need or want more choice? That choice actually means that to cover the fact the employer contribution is less, fixed on the least valuable new plan or most likely frozen, retirees now have the great benefit of selecting a plan with higher out-of-pocket costs so that their premiums are not totally unaffordable. 

Nobody has the guts to tell retirees the truth, that a promise to them has been broken, that they are getting less, not more; rather they are given the usual employee benefits and corporate gobbledygook doublespeak (which I used to be quite good at myself a few years ago).

One of my favorite lines is: “The retiree will be able to choose best-in-market plans and maximize the value of each dollar spent on healthcare premiums since the retiree will be able to choose the coverage best able to match their specific needs.” This one must be tattooed on the palms of every “representative” selling these schemes across the Country. What the hell does it mean? You better hope your specific needs don’t change during the year.

All this is not unique to the organization mentioned here, it is happening all over the Country among large employers … and you will probably be next.  And by the way, isn’t it curious that health care costs are climbing at such dramatic rates, that these costs are no longer sustainable when at the same time we are told that Obamacare has cut the increases in health care costs, bent the cost curve downward and otherwise has been successful in controlling costs? I guess retirees are not the only ones having the wool pulled over their eyes. 😛

Katelyn Umholtz @Kumh0ltz | Posted 21 hours ago

Since the retiree healthcare symposium, many were still left wondering why this major change is happening.

In the meeting, University System of Georgia representatives and Aon Hewitt promised the retirees over and over again that this would benefit them, but a lot of retirees were not buying it.

Sharron Hannon, a member of the UGA’s Retiree Association Council, said a lot of skepticism has been raised since the announcement of a new health coverage.

“We’re being told that it will benefit us, but there are a variety of opinions about that,” Hannon said.

Considering the rising costs of healthcare, many are worried they will not be taken care of like they were promised before retiring. But rising healthcare costs are not only affecting the retirees.

Sonja Roberts, who works in the Office of Communications at USG, said they can no longer afford the current health plan, and this new plan is much more sustainable.

In 2013, she said USG spent $68 million on healthcare coverage. Just one year later, USG estimates they will have spent $85 million on healthcare coverage, which comes to a 25 percent increase.

She said the new plan will benefit both parties, in that it will save money and give more options.

“A private healthcare exchange presents an opportunity to provide a similar healthcare benefit to retirees yet in a more efficient, cost-saving way while also providing a broad range of options and choices for retirees,” Roberts said.

But now retirees must go through the stressful process that is finding the right healthcare coverage with the right price tag.

The representatives at the symposium and Roberts did not give out specific numbers as to how much this could save the retirees, but they did add that USG will continue to cover a portion of the premium. How big of a portion they will cover depends on the type of healthcare coverage one gets, though.

Karin Elliott, associate vice chancellor of total rewards for USG Human Resources, said the more expensive the plan is, the less USG will cover.

“There are some plans, depending on which plan you choose, that the contribution could pay for most or all of that premium,” Elliott said. “If you choose a high value plan, even higher than what you have today, then the contribution may not cover all of the premium.”

However, the issue that seemed to worry most retirees about finding new insurance is what would actually be covered on their plans and if their current doctors would be able to take them in.

Andy Clonts, Aon Hewitt representative, said the retirees would be provided an advisor to help them find the right kind of insurance, and if necessary, find a new doctor that will take their insurance.

Roberts said this partnership with Aon Hewitt is here to help retirees make this process easier in their search to finding affordable healthcare.

“For retirees, a private retiree exchange means greater range of plan choices, both in design and in health insurer, including the insurers offered today to our Medicare eligible population: BCBSGA and Kaiser,” Roberts said. “The retiree will be able to choose best-in-market plans and maximize the value of each dollar spent on healthcare premiums since the retiree will be able to choose the coverage best able to match their specific needs.”

However, retirees will not know what to think until they see the actual effects of this new individual market plan take its course.

Though many still feel this is going to affect them more negatively than they are being lead to believe, some, such as Jim Day, a UGA retiree, said he sees why it is taking place.

“It’s so the University System can manage costs as well as reduce them,” Day said. “More retirees are living longer and health care costs have gone up.”

Effective January 1, 2016, all USG Medicare-eligible retirees will have their plans changed to private plans.

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