GM raises health cost for salaried

[Bozita]

This seems to be lost in the avalanche caused by the Delphi bankruptcy.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/business/0510/09/D01-342259.htm

Sunday, October 9, 2005

GM raises health cost for salaried

Active employees will have to pay 50 percent higher deductibles for medical care in 2006.

By Brett Clanton and Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. is increasing health care costs for tens of thousands of white-collar employees and retirees in a move that could save the troubled automaker millions of dollars in 2006.

The hikes come as part of GM's annual review of health benefits and will require employees to pay more for everything from doctor's visits to prescription drugs.

In 2006, deductibles for medical care will increase 50 percent over this year for active workers.

As of March, GM had 38,000 active salaried workers -- 31,000 in Michigan. Including hourly workers, retirees, dependents and others, GM pays medical benefits for 1.1 million people.

more...

[Skink]

1. Doesn't Medicare come after you retire?

[havocmom]

2. If you can keep private insurance after retiring, you are probably better

off to do so.

[GrumpyGreg]

4. I'm on Medicare but also have private insurance,

[GrumpyGreg]

5. You are automatically enrolled in Medicare at 65,retired or not.

[cosmicdot]

7. I don't think all doctors accept Medicare

which was one of the things I experienced when, after a 30-month waiting period after being accepted for SS Disability, my Medicare kicked in ...

I assumed that Medicare was universal ... I wondered who was the genius who decided that those on disability should do without medical insurance for 2 years???

... and, I ran into doctors who said they weren't taking on additional Medicare patients (quotas?) ...

and, I don't think there are supplemental insurance policies available for Medicare patients under 65 ...


I'm for Universal Medical-Dental-Vision Healthcare so we can, if nothing else, have uniformity. It's such a hodgepodge mess imo.

Corporate America just had to get involved in our private health matters. I never cared for my employer's nose in this arena.

[raccoon]

8. Not unless you're 65 or over or disabled. nt

[llmart]

10. Many GM employees......

are eligible to retire at 50 or in their early 50's. Medicare doesn't start until 65.

[SoCalDem]

11. That's the "fifteen year squeeze"

At 50, you are less likely to get hired at a "new" job, and even if you do, it's likely to be sans benefits and at a lower salary. Those 15 years are the most "dangerous' years when it comes to chronic/serious illness, and those are the years when, if you have kids, they are likely to be at their "costliest"..

[llmart]

12. Well, I sure know that because I'm 56.......

and my husband is 57 and, though I've been fortunate enough to get a full time job with bennies at 55, once Chrysler decides to get rid of my husband I highly doubt he'll find another job that pays as well or has benefits. We're just hoping he can hold out until 65. Even then, I know Medicare doesn't cover much, so I guess we'll have to purchase and pay for supplemental health insurance. However, we're luckier than some who live that 15 years without any insurance.

[hadrons]

3. "save the troubled automaker millions of dollars in 2006" ...

millions used to give the higher-ups huge bonuses :eyes:

[Malva Zebrina]

6. Medicare gets you little but the very basics and the bottom of the line

Medicare reimbursements have been cut and MD"s will not be reimbursed as much as previously. Thus, Medicare insured people are on the fringe.

If you are on the Medicare, you absolutely need some other insurance.

You cannot rely upon Medicare any longer . It has been shrunk.

I had an occasion to go to the ER one night with heart problems. Treated and tested and all OK.

Follow up apppointment with an MD was recommended. So I went for the follow up. Recommended was a mammogram and little else. After the consultation, which included no exam except for a BP reading and weight and some blood work ordered for cholesteral blood workup, that was it. I received a letter saying that the blood workup was withing their normal limits.

Then, received letters telling me I needed to make another follow up appointment. When I called for an appointment, as they requested, I was told there were none available and that I needed to call for an appointment on the very day I was to have an appointment. I called three times on different days and each time was told that there were NO appointments available that day. I was advised to call back again and I gave up in frustration. It was obvious to me that I would not be getting an appointment in the near future,---it did not pay, apparently from what I have learned now, and I called very early in the morning each time.

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. Watch, GM will be bankrupted because of the decline of the

popularity of the SUV. It was the only thing making money.