Newsmakers: Retirees lose benefits

Dec. 26--EDITOR'S NOTE -- Newsmakers 2015 profiles people, places and events that made news in the Grand Traverse region during the past year.

TRAVERSE CITY -- Vicki Kilway faces an extra $300 in monthly expenses in 2016, when she will no longer receive health insurance benefits once provided to Leelanau County retirees.

The former treasurer clocked 36 years at the county. She isn't eligible for Medicare until December 2016.

Kilway unsuccessfully lobbied Leelanau County commissioners against dropping retirees from the county's group insurance plan and ending the $100 monthly insurance subsidy they gave to some retirees.

"There were many of us who were very disappointed," Kilway said. "I was disappointed for the fact that for 10 months I'm going out and looking at the (health insurance) marketplace and it's not very friendly."

Leelanau County was one of multiple employers, including Munson Healthcare and Grand Traverse County, to trim retiree benefits in 2015.

Grand Traverse County stopped contributing to some retirees' Medicare supplements and capped contributions to some employees' post-retirement insurance. Munson cut its group retiree health insurance plan and eliminated subsidies it contributed to retirees' health plans.

They're not the only employers in the region or the state to cut such benefits, said Jim Verville, regional coordinator for the Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program. He said it's a common trend in recent years.

That doesn't make it easier on the people facing cuts.

"Obviously health care is very important to people, especially as you get older," he said. "That's a huge blow to them when they find out that their health care benefits are going to be dropped."

Some employers, including Munson, help retirees pick new plans. Munson hosted educational sessions in October for the retirees who will lose benefits on Jan. 1.

"I think that went a long way toward easing some of the fear of the big change," said Amy Tennis, Munson's Corporate Director of Compensation Benefits.

Verville cautioned all retirees to look for changes to their benefits since it's hard to predict which employers will make cuts. He recommended paying close attention to correspondence from former employers, to research how cuts will affect individual plans and to seek help from the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan.

"You never know when it's going to hit," he said.

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