GM Retirees Lose Their Health Benefits
It was a shock, and unbelieveable at first to many retired former GM employees when the company, facing bankrupty and lobbying for a government bailout, announced that it will be eliminating the lifetime health insurance that thousands of GM retired employees enjoy. These retirees, accustomed to being set for life, will now have to face sorting through the options of Medicare and non-Medicare options. In this regard, GM employees are becoming like a great number of US citizens that are going out there searching for their benefits for the first time. This is especially shocking as the GM retirees were accustomed of having the benefits served to them by their HR departments. The company spent tremendous amounts of money on this benefit for its employees, and while these folks are lamenting the loss of such a great perk, they are generally understanding of the company being unable to continue bearing the burden of it. How do you think these folks will fare in getting their own coverage? Having not had to deal with it for as many as forty or fifty years, will they be able to decipher the complicated number of Medicare options? Speaking with a number of them recently, it seems that the most pressing issues is finding a good medicare supplement plan and a good dental and vision plan.
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