Posted on 10/05/2010 8:46:17 AM PDT by Qbert
3M Co., citing new federal health laws, said Monday it won't cover retirees with its corporate health-insurance plan starting in 2013.
Instead, the company will direct retirees to Medicare-backed insurance programs, and will provide reimbursement for that coverage. It'll also reimburse retirees who are too young for Medicare; the company didn't provide further details.
The company made the changes known in a memo to employees Friday; news of the move was reported in The Wall Street Journal and confirmed Monday by 3M spokeswoman Jackie Berry.
In its memo, the company said the new health-reform act would create new opportunities for people in their 50s and 60s to find affordable insurance.
Maplewood-based 3M (NYSE: MMM) is one of the first large companies to indicate that it won't tap a large federal-government reimbursement program created by Congress as part of the health insurance reform package, The Wall Street Journal reported. The rebate program was meant to encourage employers to keep in place their health-insurance plans for retirees.
3M said the new policy will begin in 2013 for retirees who are 65 and older and qualify for Medicare. Non-Medicare eligible retirees and their dependents will join the program in 2015.
3M noted that these changes affect current and future retirees of 3M, regardless of their retirement date.
The new policy is likely to save 3M money because it reduces the risk to the manufacturer for rising medical costs, according to a University of Minnesota professor interviewed Monday by Minnesota Public Radio.
Also the demorat led congress is cutting Medicaire by $500 billion.
I think the hold outs are few and far between. GE is an exception not the rule.
But it would be nice to know if there are specific provisions of Obamacare that were going to cause an $xxxxxxxx amount increase in the plans that motivated the change or if this was just a long overdue change.
And by overdue, I’m not saying I’m in favor of all retirees being on Medicare, I’m just saying overdue from a company financial decision standpoint.
You folks forget that this is exactly what Obama and Democrats wanted — destroying the private medical insurance industry and replacing it with ‘single-payer’ Medicare for everyone.
Democrats don’t view this news by 3M as a negative but a step forward to their inevitable goal.
3M should try the McDonald’s route first - Great Leader promised the fed would work with Mikky-D’s. Why not 3M?
I really think this should be illegal. These folks were brought in to do a job for a company that made a fortune off their backs and now AFTER retirement, they want to drop them. I hope they can’t do this. Changes to retirement medical and pensions should only be allowed for new employees. It is BS to allow changes after years and years at a company and even worse after they have already retired. Sorry but that is just how I feel. I can imagine that those jealous of those who have pensions are the ones happy about this. Everyone has a choice where to work and some people decide to work for themselves and guess what? You don’t earn a pension but you get to sleep all day and collect the money at the end of the day....depending on what you own.
One can only hope.
yet AL Franken runs around MN telling how great Obummercare is.
And the madness begins ....
Hey Minesota !!!
As a wise woman from Alaska once said:
“How’s that hopey changey thing workin’ out for ya now ???
You betcha !!!
Watch for a new law or requirment that if a person wants to be a doctor he/she will have to accept medicare. Something in the line of Lawyers having to work for free as public defenders.
obamacare = Loop holes
IMHO, one of the really big, perhaps the biggest, problem with nobamacare is that it was created in a vacuum.
The folks running 3M and McDonalds are several orders of magnitude smarter than nobama’s thugs when it comes to running a business. Mainly because none of nobama’s thugs have ever run a business. Thus they didn’t have any “business insight” when they designed nobamacare.
Now that it’s out there, businesses are finding and exploiting all the loopholes and unintended consequences.
I say bully for the businesses. nobama thugs with exploding heads, yeah!
Wasn't 3M one of the Corporations this past spring that had to make major accounting changes in regards to the long term liabilities of these plans and they had to adjust their balance sheets for lack of a better term downward?
It was the 1st shoe that dropped in regards to Obamacare...
Instead of my catastrophic policy with 250 monthly/1820deductible/3500 max out of pocket, the new policy is 269/1750/7500 (80%).
Considering I usually burn up the out of pocket (I live an active life, lol) my insurance has effectively more than doubled.
My monthly payment has more than doubled over the last 4 years due to state (and maybe some fed) mandates.
I have no plans on changing though, as they do a good job of negotiating charges down, didn't complain about getting 3 seperate MRI's in the same day (C,T&L sections), and take as much time as needed to make sure I'm informed/satisfied.
When Bam Bam was spreading rumors about being turned down for pre existing conditions, I asked Regence about that, and their PE policy is 6 months for new subscribers - basically to keep people from signing up just to get a surgery done.
When Obama opens with the words "Let me be clear", then the next words to follow are sure to be a bare faced lie.
Then again, when he doesnt open with the words "Let me be clear", he still is going to lie.
But..but..but doctors are making it clear they are accepting no more Medicare and Medicaid patients!
“I really think this should be illegal. These folks were brought in to do a job for a company that made a fortune off their backs and now AFTER retirement, they want to drop them. I hope they can’t do this. Changes to retirement medical and pensions should only be allowed for new employees. It is BS to allow changes after years and years at a company and even worse after they have already retired.”
Illegal?? There was no motivation to do this until Obamacare was passed. (And of course, this was the not so subtle intended effect of Obamacare all along).
Health costs and costs of compliance are rising under Obamacare, exactly as critics said they would. Econ 101: There is no money tree, sorry. You make something ‘illegal’, and something else has to give- and that would mean even more layoffs, companies closing shop, or packing their bags...
“But..but..but doctors are making it clear they are accepting no more Medicare and Medicaid patients!”
And many states are bankrupt, and the Dems are cutting Medicare to the tune of half a Trillion. Massive train wreck coming.
1. Uncle Sam is actually receiving treatment
2. The title should read Lean Forward America
*************
3. "Cough"
“Al Franken: Health reform has made a difference for Minnesotans”
comment here:
http://www.topix.net/forum/state/mn/TQTD0UF02IUOQUD82
full story here:
Nope, 3M is screwing its employees. If Obama forced them to honor their word, FR would be up in arms.
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