Kraft Heinz shifts retirees to health marketplaces in cost-cutting efforts

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

Kraft Heinz Co., which counts Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as its largest shareholder, is pushing some of its retirees to health marketplaces as the company cuts expenses.

The foodmaker is eliminating some benefits as it seeks to provide care in “the most cost-effective manner,” according to a letter to retirees and their spouses dated Sept. 1.

Snip: Doug Leikness, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union in Madison, Wisconsin, where Kraft Heinz has an Oscar Mayer plant, said the change will hurt workers and reduce company costs.

Kraft Heinz is also trying to shift some retirees away from pension plans under a voluntary program. Mullen said former Kraft employees who have a “future estimated benefit value” of under $2,500 a month at age 65, and have not started receiving the money, can “receive it as an immediate lump-sum payment or begin receiving annuity payments right away.”

FULL story at link.

The Omaha World-Herald Co. is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.




Read more: http://www.omaha.com/money/kraft-heinz-shifts-retirees-to-health-marketplaces-in-cost-cutting/article_2d5e0147-d653-58c0-be20-7cd4f23b9b2a.html

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My retiree healthcare benefits end when I turn 65 in theory. But my lifespan isn't expected to last that long. I'll be 59 in January. Marta will lose my healthcare when I'm gone. But she will keep 75% of my pension for life (unless she remarries).

[Hoyt]

1. Not saying I support Kraft's action, but the truth is, the sooner we decouple health coverage

from employment, the sooner we'll get some unified national health plan.

[cheapdate]

2. +1

[EEO]

4. Agreed.

Though Kraft was not exactly on the brink of bankruptcy due to its retirees and their healthcare.

[PoliticAverse]

5. I agree that health coverage should be separated from employment.

This incident is illustrative of why that should be.

[Auggie]

3. Retiree medical/prescription drug coverage is often used to recruit employees and/or

lure employees to take early retirement. Such was the case of my Dad at GM who was offered such a lure to retire early at age 55. As you would expect, GM cut or reneged on many of their health care and benefits promises (and was able to defend these actions in court too).

Corporations suck, unless you run them or have a seat on the board.

[PoliticAverse]

6. Indeed once a corporation goes into bankruptcy all promises are on the table.

When you accept future promises from a company you are in effect betting that the
company will continue its existence in its current form for the future. A change in
ownership or even management may result in those promises not being honored.

[Auggie]

13. GM began to renege on promises a good 15 years or more before declaring bankrputcy.

First to go were the little perks. Then came the reductions to health care.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Clean up your diet, clean up your health

we all know sugar is bad for us ... then there are pesticides, fried foods,
trans fats (mostly out of the food chain now), aluminum of all varieties (dementia risk).

An out of balance diet (too much protein, cheese) or the wrong kind of eggs (organic
eggs from cage-free hens produce better omega 3/6/9 balance that don't solidify
when cooked too much says my notes from a cancer lecture), salt, MSG, nitrites ...
we all know the litany of what they're feeding us.

The cheapest and easiest way to reduce health costs as we age is a far better diet.

[pocoloco]

10. If you spend much time at DU

you may want to keep, at least some of, your aluminum!

[former9thward]

20. What do people who eat a good diet die from?

[bucolic_frolic]

23. If they're lucky

old age, and they can be healthy until the last few months of life

[former9thward]

24. "Old age" is not a medical term.

You die of something. Which means that part was unhealthy. It must be so sad for health nuts who are in the hospital wondering what they are dying from.

I am reminded of the oldest vet who is 109 and smokes 12 cigars everyday and drinks whisky everyday.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2014/11/11/meet-americas-oldest-living-vet-he-smokes-cigars-does-yard-work-drives-and-drinks-whisky-and-hes-108/

He turned 109 since this article.

[PoliticAverse]

8. Buffett's company bought Kraft earlier this year. It was inevitable the whip would be cracked. n/t

[SoapBox]

9. Just say'n..

Delta just dropped their same sex/opposite sex "domestic partnership" benefits.

If you want benefits for a partner, you gotta get married.

[24601]

15. Are the company's costs different for married & unmarried couples? But if marriage is an option

for everyone, and the policy is applied equally, it is consistent with the arguments for marriage equality.

[kelliekat44]

11. Truly, how much profit is enough? nt

[kelliekat44]

12. Letter bomb Warren Buffet. Think he will pay attention? nt

[TBF]

14. Buffet knows how to make a profit -

which is the goal of capitalism.

At some point we will become a more humane nation that decides on universal health care for ALL.

[LibDemAlways]

16. Some of those retirees will no longer be able to afford

coverage. My brother ended up in the Calif. marketplace after losing his job at age 52 and the best he could do was a "silver" level plan with a $600/mo premium. A subsequent one night hospital stay cost him $5000 out of pocket. There are cheaper plans of course, but the out of pocket costs are even greater.

Kraft Heinz is doing its retirees no favors.

[YabaDabaNoDinoNo]

17. It will be interesting to hear the candidates response to this and how it is a growing trend.

[Doctor_J]

22. One candidat wants everyone to have healthcare. The other wants to keep the profiteers

in the system.

[area51]

27. +1

GingrichCare isn't the answer, and it's not going to lead us to single-payer.

[awoke_in_2003]

18. Not surprising...

they made our company freeze its pension plan to make a few more dollars.

[turbinetree]

19. A company that is worth over 38 BILLION....................

thinks that:

"The foodmaker is eliminating some benefits as it seeks to provide care in “the most cost-effective manner,” according to a letter to retirees and their spouses dated Sept. 1. "


Yep, provide care-------------you are now hereby on your own, so eat your ketchup and mustard so that they can generate 38 BILLION plus in revenue and then....................... hold on..............


"Kraft Heinz is also trying to shift some retirees away from pension plans under a voluntary program. Mullen said former Kraft employees who have a “future estimated benefit value” of under $2,500 a month at age 65, and have not started receiving the money, can “receive it as an immediate lump-sum payment or begin receiving annuity payments right away.”

In other words defined benefits , ha, ha, ha, silly humans, you don't need any stinky defined benefits here is the first volley, unless its 38 billion plus revenue for the oligarchy and the ponzi scheme tied to a 401k--------------good luck on care---ha,ha, ha

[CountAllVotes]

26. +1,000 !!!

[Doctor_J]

21. I hope they saved their money

My company went to maket-based insurance and our deductibles went from $500/year to $8500. Now that private for-profit insurance is locked in forever, reduced benefits (higher profits) will increasingly become the norm.

[PoliticAverse]

28. $8,500 deductible, ouch. n/t

[CountAllVotes]

25. Reason to join a strong union

The one I belong to is the most powerful public employee's union in the State of Calif. and yes, I still pay dues albeit retired. Proud to do this and this is why unions are so very important esp. for people like women and minorities that have had to suffer the consequences later in life due to an inability to make the same money as a white male did.

That said, such people as above have taken sh*t jobs that paid lousy for one thing: THE BENEFITS.