In what has become an increasing trend, Thomson, Inc. announced that it was cutting health care benefits for its retirees for Medicare-eligible retirees in 2008 WRTV is reporting. The company hit the Bloomington area hard when it closed its TV plant there and moved 1,100 jobs to Mexico. Thomson has 2,350 retirees in Indiana. A spokesman for the company said the cuts were needed to "bring [Thomson's] health care benefits more in line with companies [its] size."
Some of the employees complain that in past labor negotiations with the company they gave up pay raises in exchange for the retirement benefits. Expect the cost of Medicare and Medicaid to continue to spiral upwards as private employers do less and less for their employees and retirees. With the generous expansion of Medicare benefits to include prescription drug coverage for Medicare recipients, why should private employers make any effort to take care of their retirees if they don't have to?
A very succinct observation, Gary.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason the Bush R-X program is nuts.
That, and the fact it's confusing as hell to almost everyone.
Inside the beltway joke is that the same people who mucked up the IRS Code wrote the Bush R-X program.