As Detroit enters the federal bankruptcy process, the city is proposing a controversial plan for paring some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets that will soon be operating under the Obama health care law. (New York Times)
11 thoughts on “Detroit to Dump Its Retirees on the Exchange”
Comments are closed.
Ouch, well at least they are getting something. It’s better than none at all.
I doubt if Detroit is alone in contemplating this. Every firm in America that offers retiree health benefits if quietly discussing this with their legal council. One has to wonder if the architects of ObamaCare even discussed this possibility? If so, were they told fiscal soundness wasn’t a requirement?
I think they are going to be flooded with way more people than they ever expected.
It’s clear the law was draft too quickly
I wonder if their contract language is ambiguous enough to support this.
Dumping? I think that Detroit is just taking advantage of the awesomeness of ObamaCare.
Its authors, having passed it, are just now starting to find out what’s in it.
I’m sure that is how it will be framed…
Interesting times for Detroit
Their future is really hinging on how they handle this situation. It could bounce back relatively quickly or continue becoming a ghost town.
It’ll be interesting to see reinvestment in the area happening. There will be a lot of investment opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
Some cities and some unions have not only promised free health care to retirees under age 65, they even give free health care to retirees who could be on Medicare.
These idiotic promises are a tremendous drain on younger taxpayers and younger workers.
The ACA exchanges are in some ways the least bad solution. I would rather that all taxpayers of America pick up the cost vs. just the taxpayers of one city.
Put it another way. At present the retiree gets free health care while libraries and schools have to close.
In the ACA, a wealthy retiree will pay a lot for their own health insurance. A less well-off retiree will still pay more than he/she is paying today.
This does not get the ACA off the hook in terms of its own idiotic designs.
But face it, any person who has no employer coverage after age 55 needs some financial assistance to buy health insurance. This is just as true for persons laid off from IBM or United Airlines as for Detroit city workers.