GM Elderly Retiree Benefits
Art Work By Al Canales
allyn5157@earthlink.net
April 3, 2009
Senate rejects Ensign's proposal for Medicare means-testing
- wealthier senior citizens to pay more for prescription drugs under
Medicare was rejected.
By Steve Tetreault, Las Vegas Review-Journal -
April 3, 2009
WASHINGTON -- An amendment that would have required wealthier senior
citizens to pay more for prescription drugs under Medicare was rejected
Thursday in the Senate.
The vote was 58-39 against a proposal by Sen.
John Ensign, R-Nev., to add means-testing to Medicare Part D, the drug
benefit created in 2003.
Under the amendment, premiums would have begun to increase for
enrollees who have modified adjusted gross income of more than $85,000
and for couples with such income of more than $170,000.
Means-testing exists for Medicare Part B, which covers services by
doctors and clinics, but Part D was formed without the cost-shift.
"What we are doing is just to say to seniors ... if you have the
means to pay for (prescriptions), then you should pay for them," Ensign
said during debate on a budget blueprint bill for fiscal year 2010.
Premiums vary by the type of prescription plan that enrollees choose.
Under Ensign's amendment, they would have grown by $11.31 a month up to
$64 a month depending on beneficiary income.
The cost-shift would save taxpayers about $3 billion, Ensign
contended.
"That used to be a lot of money around here," Ensign said. "I realize
that is small change now," with the 2010 federal budget looking to be
about $3.5 trillion.
Ensign argued that President Barack Obama also has proposed
means-testing for Medicare prescription drugs in his budget.
There is a difference, though. Ensign wanted to apply the savings to
reduce the federal deficit, while Obama proposed savings be reinvested
into fixing the nation's health care system.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., stressed that point in calling for the
Ensign amendment to be defeated.
"This amendment sounds good on the surface, but frankly it is going
to make health care reform more difficult," said Baucus, the chairman of
the Senate Finance Committee.
"The president does not want to use means-testing to reduce spending
on health care," Baucus said.
The vote fell largely along party lines, with most Republicans voting
for it and most Democrats voting against it, including Sen. Harry Reid,
D-Nev.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at
stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/42378482.html
Medicare Advantage
prices rise as overhaul plan nears
By Avram
Goldstein, Bloomberg News - Feb. 5, 2009
As
President Obama prepares to push for an overhaul of the medical system,
providers of U.S.-backed health plans for the elderly are raising prices.
Humana
Inc., Health Net Inc., and nearly 200 other providers increased 2009 premiums by
13 percent on average, or more than five times as much as last year, for people
who use Medicare Advantage, according to Avalere Health, a consulting company in
Washington.
Advantage
plans add features such as drug coverage to Medicare and are run by commercial
insurers.
Obama has
vowed to control health-care spending while extending coverage to more people,
and, during his campaign, criticized the costs of Advantage plans. The premium
increases, charged directly to the elderly rather than the government, are
further evidence that insurers' need for profits is ballooning patients'
expenses and reducing the efficiency of care, said Arnold Relman, former editor
of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Medicare
Advantage is a rip-off," said Relman, 85, also a professor emeritus at Harvard
Medical School in Boston. "I cannot see that they do anything better than public
insurance does, and they do a lot of things worse."
Medicare
will spend 14 percent more this year, on average, for Advantage enrollees than
for beneficiaries with basic coverage, concluded a staff report in December by
the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an independent agency that advises
Congress.
Obama
considers the government payments "excessive," Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman now on
the White House staff, said in a Jan. 5 e-mail. During his campaign Obama
promised to cut subsidies to Advantage by as much as $15 billion a year, or
about 15 percent from last year's total of $100 billion.
Insurers
also collected about $5 billion in Advantage premiums from consumers last year,
said Thomas Scully, the former top administrator of the U.S. Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Scully,
who helped design the Advantage program, said that he did not consider the
premiums excessive and that Advantage was less expensive than alternatives.
Medicare
is the U.S. health plan for the disabled and those over 65. Basic Medicare, with
a monthly fee of $96, lets patients use nearly all U.S. doctors or hospitals.
Beneficiaries can also buy separate private policies to cover prescription drugs
and expenses exempted from standard benefits. Advantage, which covers 10.5
million people, bundles those options.
"There
are almost 11 million people who have chosen to participate in Medicare
Advantage because they feel they're good plans," said Richard Barasch, chief
executive officer of Universal American Corp., an insurer in Rye Brook, N.Y.
The
Advantage premiums paid by Blair Law and his wife, Mary, rose to $50 a month
this year, up from zero initially. "These guys have you by the short hairs,"
said Blair Law, 77, a retired construction-company executive in Fort Myers, Fla.
"They know you're disinclined to shift to another plan, so they keep ratcheting
the cost up."
In 2007,
the Laws joined an Advantage plan provided by Universal Health Care Corp. of St.
Petersburg, Fla. Initially, the plan charged no monthly premium, and the insurer
rebated the couple's basic-Medicare premiums, the Laws said. The rebate ended
last year, and this year the company began charging the couple an additional $50
a month. Universal Health Care chief executive officer Akshay Desai did not
respond to a request for comment.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/39129802.html
Health Care....Why We Can't Afford
It!
Keep in mind-
this is just
ONE
hospital in
FLORIDA ....
PLEASE WATCH THIS very SHORT VIDEO. EVERYONE
NEEDS TO
HEAR THIS. IT
AFFECTS EVERY ONE OF US!!! This
is one reason why we Americans can't afford good
health care...Or, who is able to and should be
paying for this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLJxmJZXgNI
|
GM
Health Care & Pension Benefit Updates Posted Here: GM Robs Its Elderly Retirees
November
17, 2008
Extend Health Got You
On Hold? Click Here For Quick Answers To Your Medicare Questions:
My Part D USA
This is a list of
things to consider BEFORE you enroll in a
Medicare Plan!
Hopefully,
this information will help you make the
best decisions for YOUR health care (Medicare Supplemental Plans) and
(Medicare Part D) prescription plans. Please read this before you make a
decision about which Medicare Plans you decide are best for you. If you
make the wrong decision on the Medicare Plans available it will probably cost
you $1,000's before you realize it!!!!
Click Here:
http://overthehillcarpeople.com/medicarethingstoconsiderletter100708.htm
November
13, 2008
Over The Hill Car People
November
11, 2008
New York Times - Some G.M. Retirees Are in a Health Care Squeeze
September
27, 2008
Report – NRLN President’s Testimony To U.S.
House Committee
The effort to call attention to the broken promises of
employer-sponsored health care coverage for retirees took a step
forward on September 25, 2008 when an important U.S. House of
Representatives Committee conducted a hearing on “Safeguarding
Retiree Health Benefits.” NRLN President Bill Kadereit presented
testimony to the Committee of Education and Labor on behalf of the
National Retiree Legislative Network membership. Folks this is a
must read! If you did not think retirees had a voice in
Washington and all was lost watch the video! We have a real chance
of getting a bill to Congress to protect retirees Health Care:
Read more......click here:
http://overthehillcarpeople.com/nrlnbillscongresstestimony092308.htm
September
19, 2008
Click the links below for the latest information about
GM health care benefits and Extend Health presentations:
September
17, 2008
GM-Extended Health Care meeting in Pontiac,
Michigan 9-11-08
September
16, 2008
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At this time, there is no
action required by you. During the week of September 22, 2008, you will receive
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September
15, 2008
Bills will
ensure health benefits for retirees tell Congress Now!
Courier-Post
September 14, 2008
Bills would ensure health
benefits for retirees
By MIKE MCFADDEN
For the Courier-Post
Sadly, General Motors has become the latest American company to eliminate health
benefits for its retirees over the age of 65. This is just the first major
casualty of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC)
decision earlier this year to allow companies to discriminate against older
retirees by treating them differently than younger retirees.
Precedent set
This move may be a sign of even more cuts to come. GM has set a precedent that
will likely lead to other employers doing the same. In recent years as a
cost-cutting measure, some corporations have resorted to canceling or reducing
retiree health-care coverage. These are benefits that were earned by employees
and were considered part of their total compensation package.
In the 1950s through the 1980s they were "inducements," when their purpose was
to excuse the lack of a higher starting wage. Continued health benefits in
retirement were a strong incentive for many to stay with their employer for
decades of loyal service. The modern inference that corporate retirement
benefits are entitlements or gifts is just wrong. They are benefits earned over
careers spanning 30 to 40 years.
I worked at Bell Atlantic for 34 years as a communications technician and a
member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 827. In
exchange for a lower salary, I was guaranteed a package of retirement benefits.
I expect the company that I dedicated years of loyal service to to fulfill its
financial obligations to me. Now that my earned benefits are in jeopardy, I am
compelled to let other retirees know about what is happening to their retirement
benefits.
Address issue
Two bills now in Congress, the bipartisan Emergency Retiree Health Benefits
Protection Act (HR 1322) and the Pension Protection Act ERISA Amendment of 2008
(HR 6143), would finally address this issue and make companies live up to the
financial commitments made to their employees and retirees decades ago.
The financial reality of providing health-care coverage is considered in both
bills. They ensure that employers are not burdened with a cost they cannot
afford or that does financial harm to the company by including the ability for
companies to apply for an exemption if they feel compliance would be a
substantial hardship. Most importantly, both bills ensure that employers meet
their obligations to their long-time employees who earned those benefits through
years of dedicated service.
These bills address the economic concern of America's older generations without
placing mandates on companies as to what health plans or monetary ceilings for
retiree health benefits they are willing to provide. According to the bills,
any changes to a health plan would need to be made before an employee retirees.
Support from members of Congress of these bills is critical to retirees in New
Jersey and across the country, especially in light of the EEOC ruling that
allows companies to cut supplemental health coverage to retirees age 65 and
over.
Plan of action
Health-care coverage is a vital issue for all Americans. It is imperative that
both presidential candidates and Congress address these issues -- now of crisis
proportion for retirees -- and put into their platforms a true plan of action
for the protection of retirees' earned health-care benefits.
Much ado is being made about the impact of the youth vote in 2008. Considering
that the 55-plus age group represented about 42.3 percent of those who voted in
the last election, according to the Census, does anyone really think 18-25 year
olds will be the difference?
To those holding or seeking office in 2008, I encourage you not to take the
retiree/senior vote for granted. After being fed a steady diet of malarkey from
Washington for far too long, this will be the year we choose to vote based upon
candidates' support of our issues. For those who think the 18-25 year olds will
be the difference, remember we have children and grandchildren who vote, too.
The writer lives in Atco.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/COLUMNISTS25/809140313/1005/OPINION
Folks....PLEASE click the link below
and tell your Congressional representatives to put pressure on the Speaker OF
The House - Nancy Pelosi - to step aside and let these bills go to the floor of
Congress for a vote.
http://www.overthehillcarpeople.com/gmrobstheirelderlyretirees.htm
September
9, 2008
GM Health Benefit Conference Call For Members Of OTHCP
9-18-08
You may want to participate in the Sept. 18 conference call at 3
pm eastern time on the Post 65 Health Care changes for anyone who wants to call
in. The 800 call in number is available at this link:
Just tell the
operator that you are part of the conference call for the - "GM Post - 65 Health
Care Changes."
This will be the same as the in person meetings, with one GM speaker and one
Extend Health with a Q&A session at the end.
Jack Dickinson
spoacdc1@aol.com
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
September
7, 2008
GM Folks!
You can click the link below and read some of the concerns GM'ers have
expressed. If you have not posted your questions for GM,
please do it now. Please keep in mind this is not about the health care
issues. It is more about GM's present and future positioning!!!
Your Two Cents! New Health & Pension Benefit Information Here:
http://forums.overthehillcarpeople.com/viewtopic.php?t=3306
Regards,
Jack Dickinson
spoacdc1@aol.com
http://www.overthehillcarpeople.com/
September
6, 2008
Hello GM Folks!
You’ve heard the rumors about GM and read some
of the questionable news reports. So have we. In response, GM has started an
aggressive outreach strategy to take our story to the media, and they want to
tell us about it.
On Tuesday, September 9, at 1 p.m. Eastern time
we will participate in a GM conference call with Steve Harris, Vice President,
GM Global Communications, who will review what GM is doing to set the record
straight. Steve will also share the centennial celebration plans for September
16 and how GM is prepared to take full advantage of the global spotlight. After
the presentation the phone lines will be open for our feedback and questions.
We at
www.overthehillcarpeople.com are requesting you e-mail us your suggestions
for questions we should ask GM to address. We will post the conference call
details on our web site, so be sure to check it often. Please keep in mind, this
is not about the Health Care issue for retirees. It is about the present and
future positioning of GM!
Regards,
Jack Dickinson
Spoacdc1@aol.com
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
August
25, 2008
Health Care Information To
Consider:
What we will have from GM is
$300.00 (retiree only) added to our monthly pension (1-1-09). This is
taxable at probably 15% = $255.00.
We pay $152.00 (spouse
included) a month now for our GM Medical Coverage.
Part B of Medicare will cost us
$96.40 each person 65 and older.....$192.00 Total
GM will cancel (1-1-09) the
$76.20 they now give us to offset some of the above Part B cost.
Summary of what retirees
will have to replace GM coverage:
$255.00 - $300.00 less 15% Tax
$152.00 - The amount we now pay
for GM health care coverage
$407.00 -Total available
monthly to replace GM health care coverage for retiree and spouse
(estimate)
$192.00- Less the amount we
will now pay for Part B of Medicare $96.00 x 2 people= $192.00
$215.00 - The total amount
we will have left to cover retiree & spouse for insurance that Medicare Part
A & Part B do not cover.
We are now studying replacement
cost with several insurance companies and will also compare Extend Health
numbers when received. We will be attending a GM meeting September 18, 2008
concerning health care. A must is to make certain you are comparing
apples to apples. Initially, we feel we will not be able to get any
where near the GM coverage we now have for any where near the $215.00
available to replace the GM health care coverage for the retiree and spouse.
You can probably expect to be several hundred dollars out of pocket monthly
to just get decent coverage. Not coverage comparable to our GM health care
we now have. We will post our findings on the GM web site group at
http://www.overthehillcarpeople.com/ .
We are not insurance experts
and do not recommend any programs to our members. You should consider this
as helpful information only. We suggest you do not make any decisions until
you discuss with GM - Extend Health and others.
Regards,
August
24, 2008
Informal Notes re: August 13, 2008 GM Health Care
Presentations to Retiree Club
August
22, 2008
Florida
& Atlanta
Area Retiree Health Benefits Meeting Dates:
Click this link for additional information:
Over The Hill Car People. Com :: Index
As of today (8/22/08) 4,346 letters have been
emailed to members of Congress about GM's elimination of healthcare
benefits.
Ed
August
13, 2008
OverTheHillCarPeople.Com
GM People & All
American Retirees,
This is a link
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR01322:@@@P to
The Library of Congress
which will show you all of
the House of Representative members that are sponsoring bill H. R. 1322.
This bill will
amend title I of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide emergency protection
for retiree health benefits.
We understand this bill
would address this issue and make
companies live up to the financial commitments made to their employees
and retirees decades ago. According to the bill, changes to health
benefits would need to be made before an employee retires.
Healthcare coverage is a vital issue for
all Americans. It is imperative that before the Democratic and
Republican conventions both presidential candidates and Congress address
these issues - now of crisis proportion - and put into their platform a
true plan of action for the protection of retirees' earned healthcare
benefits.
Support from members of Congress is critical to all retirees across
the country, especially in light of the EEOC ruling that allows
companies to cut supplemental health coverage to retirees age 65 and
over.
The
bill H. R. 1322 has been referred to a House subcommittee. Status:
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
You can click this link
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR01322:@@@P
to determine if your representatives
are supporting this bill. If they are, then write them an e-mail/letter
requesting they pressure The Speaker of the House to let this bill go to
the congress floor for a vote. If your local representatives are not
listed, then send them an e-mail/letter demanding they join the
supporters of this bill in forcing
Nancy Pelosi to step aside and let congress vote on this issue.
Click the link below
to find the e-mail/letter address of your local representatives, as well
as, others and send them as many e-mails/letters and/or calls as
possible.
Send your E-Mail/Letter to Congress
NOW by clicking
this link:
To those
holding or seeking office in 2008, we encourage you not to take the
retiree/senior vote for granted. They represented 62.5 percent of
those who voted in the last election.
Please
forward this e-mail to as many GM retirees and active employees as
possible. All retirees, regardless of their company, can and should do
their part by sending e-mails/letters and making calls.
August
11, 2008 - Two bills now in Congress, the bi-partisan Emergency
Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act (H.R. 1322), and the
Pension Protection Act ERISA Amendments of 2008 (H.R. 6143),
would address this issue and make companies live up to the
financial commitments made to their employees and retirees
decades ago. According to the bills, changes to health benefits
would need to be made before an employee retires.
Click this link for additional information:
Over The Hill Car People. Com :: Index
August
8, 2008 - Salaried EMPLOYEES
will also feel the pain from GM health care changes. Click this
link for additional information:
Over The Hill Car People. Com :: Index
Many
of you have ask why the UAW hourly employees still have their
Health Care Program for life and you are without any! Click the
link below and hold your nose:
Click Here To Read:
TheStreet.com - News
Article About Overthehillcarpeople.com - July25,
2008
Click Here To Read:
TheStreet.Com - News Article About
Overthehillcarpeople.com - July 24,
2008
Hello To All
GM Folks!
As most of you
probably know, a lawsuit was filed in the 1980’s against General Motors on
behalf of all retirees concerning the cancellation of health benefits. In the
end, the courts ruled in favor of GM and gave them the right to cancel your
benefits anytime they choose.
To file another
law suit would be costly and timeless, and GM would probably win again. It seems
they can win at everything except gaining the media’s and public’s confidence in
their quality products. We are at Mr. Wagoner’s mercy at this point and you now know
where his loyalties appear to be! If not, just recall this article posted on our
web site a few months ago.
Fri Apr 25, 2008 3:42pm EDT
GM CEO's
compensation jumps 64 percent in 2007?????
DETROIT, April 25 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N:
Quote,
Profile,
Research) Chief Executive Rick
Wagoner's salary and other compensation rose 64 percent in 2007 to about
$15.7 million, mainly due to option grants, according to a proxy filed on
Friday.
Wagoner's compensation rose from about $9.57 million in 2006. The figure was
arrived at based on Wagoner's salary, all other compensation and the basis of
annual grants.
GM
paid Wagoner a salary of $1.6 million in 2007, along with $1.8 million in
non-equity incentive compensation and nearly $700,000 for other compensation
that includes insurance benefits, security, aircraft expenses and other factors.
GM,
which reported a record $39 billion net loss in 2007,
released the figures in a proxy statement on Friday afternoon that was filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (Reporting by David Bailey;
Editing by Andre Grenon)
Why
Do Retirees Health Benefits Decrease Every Year & Mr. Wagoner Receives A 64% Pay
Increase?????
Well, we all
have our own opinions about the above person and the issue at hand. All that
said, I know all of our members respect General Motors and still remember the
love each of us share for the corporation. So, we feel the best course of action
at this point is to combine our numbers with other groups and pursue actions to
change laws and rulings by our friends in the EEOC and our highly regarded
congress (a 9% approval rating).
In order to create
a stronger voice in Washington, D.C. to protect pensions and benefits for
OverTheHillCarPeople.com members we are affiliating with the National Retiree
Legislative Network (NRLN). We are also encouraging all GM Retirement Clubs to
consider doing the same. Based in Washington, D.C., the NRLN is the only
nationwide organization solely dedicated to representing the interests of
retirees and future retirees. The NRLN's mission is to secure federal
legislation to protect retirees' employer-sponsored pensions and benefits, plus
keep Social Security and Medicare strong. The NRLN is a non-partisan, grassroots
coalition of 18 retiree associations and individual members representing more
than two million retired men and women seeking to preserve retirement benefits.
For more information about the NRLN visit their website at
www.nrln.org and look for the Overthehillcarpeople.com logo.
The NRLN does not
meet with company management or sue or take other action against companies. They
make no campaign contributions nor buy lunch or dinner or offer any favors to
politicians. They lobby in Washington, D. C. using Grassroots Members. Our
members will be able to join the grassroots effort to wake up elected officials
to the need for new laws and programs that protect, restore and enhance retiree
income and healthcare benefits.
NRLN’s
Legislative Agenda
The NRLN's
legislative priorities include the further strengthening of pension protections
under the ERISA laws, protecting and funding retiree healthcare benefits and
securing more affordable and safe prescription drugs. To read the NRLN’s
Legislative Agenda go to:
http://www.nrln.org/2008%20legislative%20agenda%20summary.htm .
The NRLN's staff
in Washington, D.C. uses the rapport they have with U.S. Representatives and
Senators and their staff members to be a channel for communications to advance
the NRLN’s Legislative Agenda on Capitol Hill.
The NRLN's
Legislative Agenda requires all of its Grassroots Advocates to communicate to
their elected representatives the importance of the agenda issues.
Join The NRLN's
Grassroots Network
It is the
individuals who sign up to be Grassroots Advocates who are the voices that
amplify the messages that must be heard by members of Congress. When you enter
your name, email address and U.S. Mail address in the Capwiz database by signing
up at
http://capwiz.com/abtr/mlm/signup/ you are joining a special group.
The reason that
email addresses are required for the Grassroots Network is so that the NRLN
staff can send you email messages and progress reports on important retirement
issues. Your contact information in the NRLN's secure database will only be used
to send NRLN messages to you.
Your U.S. Mail
address, including 9-digit Zip Code, is important because there are times when
the NRLN need to identify the constituents of particular U.S. Senators and
Representatives who should hear the views of retirees and future retirees from
"back home" on bills before their committees. Capwiz uses Zip Codes to identify
them by State, District and name. After you sign up for the Grassroots Network,
you have the option of “unsubscribing” at any time.
OverTheHillCarPeople.com encourages you to become an NRLN Grassroots Member and
have your views heard in our nation’s capital.
If you choose
not to contribute to the NRLN's membership fees that will be your choice. You
can still use their web site resources, along with Overthehillcarpeople.com, to
gain information needed to keep informed and express your views on your local
interest and to your representatives. However, as with all groups, there are
expenses and the NRLN’s agenda and ours can best be served by you becoming a
member of their organization as well as overthehillcarpeople.com.
Folks, be
assured, Overthehillcarpeople.com will continue to be a GM web site group and
will continue to serve our members as we always have in the past. This combining
of groups will benefit all concerned by strengthening our abilities to fight for
our hard earned benefits and to be heard.
The EEOC and
Congressional members have already been contacted concerning our GM Health
Benefit concerns, and you can do your part by following the request listed
below:
NRLN Action Alert GM Healthcare Cuts
From Bill Kadereit, NRLN President
Subject:
GM Retirees Latest Victims Of EEOC Rule
You have probably read or heard the news reports
that on July 15th, General Motors announced a number of cost cutting measures
that included the elimination of its health care plan for retirees age 65 and
older who are eligible for Medicare.
On January 1, 2009, GM will cancel
medical, dental, vision, hearing aid, prescription drug, extended care coverage
and a $76 per month Medicare B premium payment, for tens of thousands of
retirees, age 65 and older, surviving spouses and dependents.
In lieu of the healthcare benefits, GM will
provide a monthly pre-tax pension increase of $300. This amount will only be a
drop in the bucket for what it will cost retirees living on fixed incomes to
purchase replacement insurance for the coverage lost.
GM’s
announcement is the latest horrific example of the harm that a rule published by
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is causing. The EEOC Rule
allows employers to reduce or eliminate health care benefits to retirees when
they become Medicare-eligible at age 65.
The EEOC’s purported reasoning for creating the
Rule was that by allowing employers to discriminate and treat older retirees
less favorably, employers might have an incentive to continue to offer
healthcare benefits for younger retirees and active employees. However, nowhere
in the EEOC Rule or elsewhere is it written that those under age 65 have any
assurances their benefits will not be reduced. The law does not protect them.
The thousands of GM salaried retirees who will
lose their health care benefits are one of the largest retiree groups to be
targeted. With the attention that GM’s announcement has received in the press,
many other employers are most likely examining GM’s decision and giving
consideration to taking similar action. Therefore, it is in the interest of all
retirees and future retirees to write to their U.S. Senators and Representatives
to request that legislation be passed to overturn the EEOC Rule and provide
safeguards for retirement health care benefits.
We have called for this in letters faxed last
week to the Democrat and Republican leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Congressional
committees that deal with retirement legislative issues. (Read my letter in the
NRLN Website Latest News at
www.nrln.org.) In these letters, we proposed the passage of the “Health Care
Protection Act of 2008.” Under the act, should an employer reduce or eliminate
health care benefits, retirees would receive a Maintenance of Cost Payment (MCP)
equivalent to the cost of their defined health care benefits as of the date of
retirement. With the MCP, corporations would know their costs for retiree health
care would not grow. Retirees would be more secure in knowing they could replace
benefits with the MCP fixed-payment dollars.
I am asking you as an NRLN Grassroots Advocate
and a member of Overthehillcarpeople.com to use the NRLN’s sample letter to
write to your U.S. Senators and Representative. Please go
to
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/ and look for the Action Alert
headline: GM RETIREES LATEST VICTIMS OF EEOC RULE. Click on “Take Action.” On
the next screen, type in your zip code to identify the Senators and
Representative to receive your letter. I encourage you to add your own personal
comments to the sample letter. If you have a problem accessing the Action Alert
with the above link, go to
www.nrln.org and click on the “Take Action Now” headline at the
top of the NRLN Website’s Home Page.
Progress
Report: August 22, 2008 -
During the first 24 hours after the NRLN Action Alert was issued
asking Grassroots Members and Overthehillcarpeople.com folks to write to their
U.S. Senators and Representatives about GM Retirees being the latest victims of
the EEOC Rule, Aug.
22,
2008 - 4,346 emails
have been sent to members of Congress. Please send
your E-Mail Today! Click here:
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/
Send your letter today. It would also help to
call the Washington, D.C. or state office of your Senators and Representative.
Phone numbers for the offices can be found through the NRLN’s Capwiz website at
http://capwiz.com/abtr/dbq/officials/.
The more constituents who write and call their
Senators and Representatives, the better chance we have gaining their attention
on retirement issues. Please share this email with your family and friends and
encourage them to write and call their members of Congress. Also, encourage them
to sign up in the Grassroots Network at
http://capwiz.com/abtr/mlm/signup/ and become an NRLN Individual Member by
making a personal annual contribution. Details are available at
www.nrln.org.
Bill Kadereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network
Sample Letter
Dear Senator ________ (Representative ________ )
Re:
GM Retirees Latest Victims Of EEOC Rule
I’m writing to urge you to right an enormous
wrong that has been done to America’s retirees. I’m referring to the fact that
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a rule that
allows employers to reduce or eliminate health care benefits for retirees age 65
and older who are Medicare eligible. This is outright age discrimination! The
Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (ADEA) that Congress passed in 1967 was intended to prevent
things like the EEOC Rule from impacting older citizens.
The
latest horrific example of the harm the EEOC Rule is causing is the recent
announcement by General Motors. On
January 1, 2009, GM will cancel medical, dental, vision, hearing aid,
prescription drug and extended care coverages for tens of thousands of retirees,
age 65 and older, surviving spouses and dependents.
In lieu of the health care benefits, GM will
provide a monthly pre-tax pension increase of $300. This amount will only be a
drop in the bucket for what it will cost retirees living on fixed incomes to
purchase replacement insurance for the coverages lost. Many retirees will not be
able to afford the premium costs to replace these coverages. GM will end up
paying nothing; they will use retiree pension money to pay the $300.
The
National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) has proposed to Congressional
leaders that a “Health Care
Protection Act of 2008” should be introduced. Under this proposal, should an
employer reduce or eliminate health care benefits, retirees would receive a
Maintenance of Cost Payment (MCP) equivalent to the cost of their defined health
care benefits as of the date of retirement. With the MCP, corporations would
know their costs for retiree health care would not grow. Retirees would be more
secure in knowing they could replace benefits with the MCP fixed-payment
dollars.
If you
have a better idea than the NRLN’s proposal, I want to hear
what it is. You need to sponsor legislation to
reverse the EEOC’s Rule and protect retirement benefits. If you do nothing, it
says to me that you don’t care about preserving the retirement benefits that I
worked much of my life to earn. If this is the case, why would a retiree want to
vote for any incumbent member of Congress? I’ve read that the public’s approval
rating of Congress is even lower than the approval rating of President Bush. The
partisan bickering between the Democrats and Republicans that I see on the news
must stop. You need to wake up to what is happening to retirees and fix the
problems before millions of additional Americans are added to the poverty rolls
and even greater costs for health care are placed on taxpayers.
At age 65, all retired members of Congress and
other retired Federal employees are guaranteed healthcare benefits as good as
GM’s, including Prescription Drugs, Long Term Care and Catastrophic insurance
coverage. My hope is that you will help me so that I can be treated equally
under the law.
Sincerely,
Your Name & Contact Information
Many of you
have been asking what you can do. Well, now you know! A lot of hard work and
time has gone into this project, so let’s get behind it and
send those letters and call
those congressional people until they do something. If they don’t,
vote them out of office in November!
Please copy this link and send it to all of your GM friends and relatives
.......ask them to send the letter/make the phone call on your behalf:
http://www.overthehillcarpeople.com/nlrnjoiningletter072208.htm
If you have
questions, please feel free to write us at
spoacdc1@aol.com .
Regards,
Jack Dickinson
Spoacdc1@aol.com
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
July 20, 2008
Hello GM And Other Retired/Active Folks,
Thank you for your E-Mails! Please keep them coming!
We are formulating plans to express our position on GM's
action against 65 year old salaried retirees only. This is
age discrimination and Washington is being informed with legal
representation as we write this today.
We have teamed with the
National Retiree Legislative Network
(NRLN) and other retirement groups (GM, Ford and
Chrysler retirement clubs, as well as, several GM groups) to
combine our efforts. The more retired and active people we can
get to join us the more effective we will be. Please request
your retired/active friends and clubs to click the link below
and join our group!
A $25.00 Lifetime membership fee does not go very far toward
the expense of this web site or our actions to assist GM
retirees and active employees. So we need all the members we
can get involved. We would appreciate your requesting your
GM.....Delphi, Buick, GMAC, etc., friends to do the same.
How many GM'ers can you contact? Remember there are over
400,000 GM retirees out there ALONE.
Do you have special talents that will enhance our web
site......writing articles, photo's, research, etc. What can
we place on our GM group web site that will help you spread
the word?
We understand GM is very concerned about our actions and are
monitoring our forum on the "Discussion Bulletin Board." You can
start doing your part by clicking on the link below and
expressing your views about GM's actions against 65 year old
salaried retirees and all future GM'ers to come, as so many
folks have already done. Read their comments here:
The civil rights movement did show us that we can fight
discrimination. But we will need large numbers of people to
accomplish this! We are going to announce additional details of
actions still to come next week and we will need everyone's
support immediately.
Looking forward to hearing from each one of you!
Jack Dickinson
spoacdc1@aol.com
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
Subject: Important Message from Kathy Barclay - GM
July 15, 2008
Since the first of this year, U.S.
market and economic conditions have become significantly more difficult.
These conditions, along with the rapid change in automotive industry
sales mix, require us to take further actions that will position us
not only to survive, but to come out of this as a lean, strong and
successful company.
This morning Rick Wagoner,
GM’s Chairman and CEO, announced a series of actions to bolster the
company’s liquidity by $15 billion through 2009. Included in these
actions is the suspension of the GM common stock dividend, reductions in
capital spending and structural cost, and a 20 percent reduction in
salaried employment cash costs. In addition, he announced planned asset
sales and capital market activities that again are focused on improving
the company’s liquidity position.
As part of the 20 percent
reduction in salaried employment cash costs, we are making a change to
the General Motors Salaried Health Care Program. I wanted to
share this information directly with you, a retiree club president, in
order to help you understand the announcement and how this will impact
retirees and surviving spouses.
Effective January 1, 2009, GM is
canceling health care coverage for salaried retirees, surviving spouses
and their dependents when an individual is age 65 or older. Instead,
eligible salaried retirees and surviving spouses over age 65 will
receive a monthly pension increase of $300. This pension increase is
designed to help offset some of the health care costs in retirement.
Eligible salaried retirees,
surviving spouses and their dependents, who are pre-age 65, may continue
to participate in the General Motors Salaried Health Care Program
until they turn age 65. This Program remains subject to the Salaried
Retiree Health Care Cap that became effective January 1, 2007.
Salaried retirees and surviving
spouses should receive a letter and Q&A document in the mail this week.
We have attached copies for your information. Also attached are
today’s press release and Rick Wagoner’s remarks from this morning’s
press event.
Going forward, this change
impacts how we will manage our health care plans and implementing this
change will require the ongoing cooperation and assistance of our team,
including you as one of our retiree club presidents. Work is already in
process, but we have a significant and aggressive implementation
schedule ahead of us. General Motors is absolutely committed to
assisting the impacted retirees, surviving spouses and dependents. Our
goal, over the next six months, will be to accomplish as smooth a
transition as possible for those impacted.
We have hired Extend Health, a
company that will assist retirees and surviving spouses in transitioning
from GM coverages to individual Medicare plans like Medicare Advantage
or Medigap. GM is very concerned about possible confusion that will
result within the retiree community as they may become inundated with
direct marketing materials. You can help with this. We have requested
that GM's current health care plans refrain from direct marketing to
retirees and surviving spouses impacted by this change and instead make
their individual plan offerings available through Extend Health. If
direct marketing materials are distributed, please instruct impacted
retirees and surviving spouses to disregard and to look for materials
that will be distributed later this year from GM and Extend Health
rather than from health plans directly.
GM intends to host many retiree
meetings to help explain the changes and answer questions. We will be
reaching out to salaried retiree clubs to set up meetings in the near
future. If you have questions in the meantime,
please contact Julie Monahan, GM Health Care Training Consultant, at julie.a.monahan@gm.com
or 313-665-8463.
This was a particularly
difficult decision for the Company to make; however, it is necessary to
take this action given today’s economic conditions. As hard as this
action is, we are doing what is necessary to position GM to withstand
the U.S. market downturn and emerge a stronger company. We ask for
your understanding and continued support.
Sincerely,
Kathleen S. Barclay
Vice President, Global Human
Resources
General Motors Corporation
To all of you "American's" who would
rather support Japan and its Japanese retirees: Your Time Is Coming!
Jack - Here is
the letter I fired off on July 15.
Charles McGuire
Minden,
NV
July 15, 2008
General
Motors Corporation
300
Renaissance
Center
MC
482-C32-D82
Detroit,
MI
48265
To save me valuable time and assure that I do not misquote your
statements I have taken the liberty to cut and paste your entire letter
to this memo. All of my comments, following your statements, are in the
brown color, indeed brown was chosen because this is a very gloomy and
disappointing “Special Announcement”.
GM Retiree eNews
July 15, 2008
Special Announcement
GM Turnaround Actions and Initiatives
Since the first of this year, U.S. market and economic conditions have
become significantly more difficult. These conditions, along with the
rapid change in automotive industry sales mix, require us to take
further actions that will position us not only to survive but, to come
out of this as a lean, strong and successful company.
How many times have I heard this statement
both as an active employee and retiree? It is insulting for you to have
the audacity to attempt to have people believe the change in the
automotive business has been rapid. Where has our leadership been, why
has it taken us so long to become lean, strong and successful? The lean,
strong and successful initiatives started way back in 1995; at least
that is when it was rolled out in my division.
This
morning Rick Wagoner, GM's Chairman and CEO, announced a series of
actions to bolster the company's liquidity by $15 billion through 2009.
Included in these actions is the suspension of the GM common stock
dividend, reductions in capital spending and structural cost, and a 20
percent reduction in salaried employment cash costs. In addition, he
announced planned asset sales and capital market activities that again
are focused on improving the company's liquidity position.
What about cuts in leadership salaries and
perks? What about cuts in NASCAR? What about cuts in consultants who
have failed to do their jobs or GM has failed to implement their
recommendations? What about cuts in rebates, they haven’t saved us over
the last 20 (twenty) years anyhow? What about cuts in non productive
salary and hourly positions? What about holding senior management
accountable? What about following the lead of Honda and
Toyota and manufacture products the public will buy? Why can’t we
be as nimble as our competition (I know our legacy costs are much higher
but they only go away with death or take backs and neither is a good
alternative)? What about shutting down some models or divisions? What
about cutting back on charitable contributions to others, charity begins
at home? How will you accelerate retirements when those you want to
retire see how you treat retirees? What about soliciting retirees to
donate time to work on special projects etc.?
As part
of the 20 percent reduction in salaried employment cash costs, we are
making a change to the General Motors Salaried Health Care Program.
Effective January 1, 2009, GM is canceling health care coverage for
salaried retirees, surviving spouses and their dependents when an
individual is age 65 or older. This is a
devastating announcement. Why punish the retirees for the shortcomings
of the leadership that has not led the organization in the right
direction, generated profits or at least cut costs and turned General
Motors around much sooner.
Instead, eligible salaried retirees and surviving spouses over age 65
will receive a monthly pension increase of $300. This pension increase
is designed to help offset some of the health care costs in retirement.
Eligible salaried retirees, surviving spouses and their dependents, who
are pre-age 65, may continue to participate in the General Motors
Salaried Health Care Program until they turn age 65. This program
remains subject to the Salaried Retiree Health Care Cap that became
effective January 1, 2007.
More
information regarding this announcement will be mailed to retirees and
surviving spouses this week. GM intends to host many retiree meetings
to help explain the changes and answer questions. We will contact
salaried retiree clubs to set up meetings in the near future.
I can hardly wait, I am sure we will get a
sales pitch one would not believe. You are probably going to tell us
that by making this sacrifice we will be lifted up, God will bless us
and future take backs will be minimal.
This
was a particularly difficult decision for the company to make; however,
it is necessary to take this action given today's challenging economic
conditions. Economic conditions have been
challenging for a long time as evidenced by retiree take-a-ways over the
past 4 (four) years. As hard as this action is, we are doing
what is necessary to position GM to withstand the U.S. market downturn
and emerge a stronger company. GM is not
in this position because of the economic downturn; they are in this
position because of poor leadership and decision making.
GM's goal is to make this transition as easy as possible for retirees
who are impacted. How are you going to
make this easier?
I hope
our leadership sleeps well at night, I sure don’t. I have always been a
loyal GM employee & retiree but myself like many others are getting
tired of turning the other cheek. You ask us to sell cars, buy GM
insurance, finance through GMAC, support the General Motors Dealer body,
and support the GM credit card, which for the most part I have always
done, in most cases at a premium. I just don’t think I can afford to be
loyal anymore, you might say I will just be hurting myself but in most
cases General Motors is not competitive in the items mentioned above. I
could identify many more concerns here but bottom line I am disappointed
and mad.
Charles F. McGuire
camcguire46@msn.com
If you would
like to express your comments to GM like Charles did or read comments
from other GM folks just click this link:
GM Robs Its Elderly Retirees
Overthehillcarpeople.com In The News:
July 25, 2008 -GM
Retirees Talk About Health-Coverage Cuts
Gavin Magor
07/25/08 - 01:40 PM EDT
As part of the
$15 billion liquidity improvement for
General Motors
GM,
starting Jan. 1 health care for the over-65 retiree will be cut
and substituted by a monthly increase to the pension.
That's a lot of people who have just lost
health-care coverage -- many elderly, some sick, and most of
whom thought they wouldn't have to think about health insurance
ever again in their lives.
Michelle Bunker, GM health-care
communications manager, said it took the decision to increase
the pensions of the eligible retirees because it gave them more
flexibility.
GM, along with the rest of the U.S. auto
industry, has been struggling mightily of late as demand for
high-profit-margin SUVs flags amid high gas prices and auto
makers such as ToyotaTM
and HondaHMC
produce more technologically advanced and appealing lineups. In
fact, many people think the company is
bound for bankruptcy in the near future.
But the company's woes are hurting real
people, too.
Jack Dickinson, a retiree with 34 years of
sales and marketing experience, presides over a GM retiree
group,
www.overthehillcarpeople.com , which has been overwhelmed
with calls and emails from concerned retirees. He says that
retirees were very angry about the announcement, and noted that
"we have some really sick folks undergoing chemo at the moment,"
among others for whom this could be fairly traumatic.
Dickinson says, "They could have and
should have included retirees in the discussion. Calls to GM are
not being answered, just receiving a recorded message -- no
further information."
Letters received by GM retirees last weekend
from Kathy Barclay, vice president of global human resources,
state that GM will be holding meetings all over the country with
retirees from September to December to answer questions. She
emphasizes that "General Motors is absolutely committed to
assisting the impacted retirees, surviving spouses and
dependents."
One reason retirees and their families are
upset is the salaried employees accepted slightly lower than
average salaries for the work that they did, on the basis that
when they retired they would have pension and health benefits
for life, thereby compensating for the lower salary.
This belief has now been shattered.
Oscar Stratton, a GM retiree, comments, "Who
thought when they retired in 1984 about what would happen in
2008?" He added that "employees need to realize that retirement
perks are perks. Pension, heath care and other retiree benefits
could disappear at any time."
Dickinson echoes this, saying "This is
overwhelming to retirees in their 70's and 80's."
Chrysler and
Ford
Fpreviously
cancelled retiree health-care arrangements, making a
contribution to a Health Reimbursement Account instead.
Chuck Austin President of the
National Chrysler
Retirement Organization, says, "we were angry because we
were promised health care for life. In 1988 they put in a
provision that it could be cancelled."
A Ford retiree with 40 years in industrial
engineering recalls, "It was an absolute disaster for Ford
salaried employees."
Some retirees questioned why they should even
buy the cars from their former employer.
One opines, "We gave them courtesy, devotion
and loyalty. This should be shown to them now as they have been
given."
Chuck White, chair of a group of Ford retiree
organizations, cautions that retirees should take a moment
before reacting: "Step back and look at it, and consider all of
the changes. The haircut is being applied to everything --
unions, employees and salaried retirees. If retirees started to
protest that they would not purchase Ford or GM products and
they were successful, they could put their entire package in
jeopardy. Purchasing reduces their risk."
Echoing the concern over the future of
retiree benefits, heightened by the announcement yesterday of a
reduction of 1,000 salaried staff at Chrysler, Austin says, "We
are definitely concerned about the spending account. It is
optional, and we have not heard anything yet about the
intentions towards the account for next year."
"We understand the challenges of foreign
competition but tightening your belts should mean that when
things get better they get loosened," Austin continues. "That
won't happen."
White says of the Ford retiree package, "We
believe that the retiree benefits are tied to the financial
condition of the company -- and yes, we are concerned, but we do
not believe that they would make further cuts unless necessary."
He adds, "Don't get into a fighting rage.
Make the system work for you. Meet with GM, ensure that
communications get out. Make it as smooth and as good as you
can. My best advice is to ask myself, what is my situation and
what do I have to do that is best for me?"
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10430299/1/gm-retirees-talk-about-health-coverage-cuts.html
July 24, 2008 -
What to Do If GM Cut Your Health Insurance
Gavin Magor
07/24/08 - 09:56 AM EDT
General Motors'
GM salaried
retirees were caught by surprise last week with the announcement of the
withdrawal of health care from 2009, and the initial anger is still
there, but now it's being replaced by concerns about the future.
Here's an outline of what GM retirees can expect, and
what steps to take to get health insurance if this has happened to you.
What Has Changed
Effective Jan. 1, eligible GM salaried retirees and
their spouses will no longer receive health care benefits once they
reach 65 and become eligible for Medicare. Instead they will receive a
taxable increase to their pension of $300 per month. Eligible retirees
are those who currently do or would have received GM health care
assistance after age 65.
Both retiree and spouse will continue to receive GM
health care until they individually reach 65.
The $300 increase to the pension is a discretionary
increase and is subject to GM's continuation of this benefit, which
means that it could be reduced, removed or increased in the future.
GM has contracted with
Extend Health
to provide health insurance advice and coordinate enrollment, and has
asked individual health insurers not to contact retirees directly.
GM Plan Isn't So Bad,
Comparatively
Both Ford
F and
Chrysler have been through this process over the
past two years, and GM retirees may actually consider themselves
somewhat fortunate after looking at the options offered by the other
companies.
Chuck White, chairman of a group of Ford retiree
organizations, says, "We get $1,800 each year into a Health
Reimbursement Account, plus the same for a spouse/domestic partner. The
average retiree would prefer the GM plan, no medical expenses to be
reimbursed, spend it however you want. It is twice as much, even if it
is taxable."
Enrollment Concerns
It would be fair to say that we have received much
feedback from both Chrysler and Ford retirees about their experiences
with EH. White says, "Extend Health did some good things and improved as
they found problems. If a retiree calls, he will have one benefits
adviser throughout the process."
Chuck Austin, president of the
National Chrysler
Retirement Organization, says he's heard anecdotal evidence that EH
was "simply overwhelmed with calls."
Bryce Williams, president and CEO of Extend Health,
says things have improved: "Extend Health is providing a better and more
efficient enrollment process with most of the health care providers. ...
We will have hundreds more agents on the phone and every time you call
you will speak with a licensed benefits adviser."
Williams adds that they have increased technology
usage with health care providers and that these two steps should take
care of 90% of the previous problems.
EH has arrangements with most Blue Cross Blue Shield
companies, including BCBS of Michigan, and offers the plans that BCBS-MI
has on the market.
Health and Coverage Concerns
With the exception of end-stage renal failure
patients, who should contact them, EH says all other retirees will be
able to obtain access to a Medigap or Medicare Advantage
guaranteed-issue plan within the Medicare enrollment period. Those
undergoing cancer treatment or suffering from chronic conditions, such
as diabetes, will be able to obtain coverage.
Austin of the Chrysler retirees group says, "There is
a Medicare Advantage plan with Blue Cross offering comparable care to
the old Chrysler plan in Michigan. When Chrysler withdrew the plan, most
people transferred and were not refused coverage. Prescription plans
varied and some people found that they were not covered for the drugs
they previously had."
Other Concerns
EH says it will work with spouses who lose coverage,
as well as the retirees themselves.
Some retiree-rights advocates have voiced concern
about confusion and difficulty, given the magnitude of the changes, as
well as the fact that some of those affected might require assistance in
sorting through the options and making the decisions.
Jack Dickinson of GM retiree group
Over the
Hill Car People.Com says, "This is overwhelming to retirees
in their 70's and 80's. Help lines like Extend Health are meant to be a
help but it is overwhelming to elderly people who don't expect to have
to make these kind of decisions."
Regarding those who may be infirm or need help with
the choices, EH's Williams says "a caregiver or relative can be on the
call to us, as well to assist getting them on the right plan. There are
legal documents that can give caregivers or relatives proxy to help
enroll the infirm."
As for the cost, Williams says, "We cannot predict
what will happen, but most clients are very surprised at the competitive
value of the individual plans available in the market."
NCRO's Austin says, "Finding our own coverage is more
expensive -- everyone is paying more than before." He says costs have
risen between $2,000 and $10,000 a year.
White of the Ford group comments, "Some retirees in
good health found that they could get a pretty good plan at a lesser
cost ... but with high prescription plan requirements, costs rose.
Everyone is different."
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10430045/1/what-to-do-if-gm-cut-your-health-insurance.html
Retirees' Health Care
12/04/07 - Submitted By
Jim Conlee
Click
this link to read all of the information
Overthehillcarpeople.com has at this time on the subject of
GM canceling health care for 65 and older salaried retirees:
GM Robs Its Elderly Retirees Of Health Care!
