Wayne County retirees face big health care bills

Nov. 23--Confusion, frustration, anger.

Some Wayne County retirees injured on the job say they are grappling with all three as they prepare for life without county-provided health care coverage, a reality forced by the county's efforts to cut costs in the face of its financial emergency.

But these retirees also say they feel betrayed, because some will be getting the county's lowest stipend -- $100 per month before taxes -- to defray the cost of health insurance, which could cost them hundreds of dollars per month. The county says 4,000 retirees qualify for the Retiree Stipend Program, which was crafted based on a legal settlement announced this summer involving a group of retirees.

Wayne County officials have said the decision to cut health care coverage for retirees was a necessary step in the county's financial recovery. The county's consent agreement with the state, entered into this year, cited among other concerns, unfunded health care-related liabilities of $1.3 billion.

"The county promised me medical ... until the day I died," said Robert Elliott, 45, who was duty disabled from the Wayne County Sheriff's Office as an officer in 2005 and now lives in Genesee County. "I gave 12 1/2 years to the (sheriff's office), was injured in the line of duty and they're not going to take care of me."

Elliott, whose pension is around $38,000 a year, expects to receive the $100 stipend. In place of the no-cost insurance he has now, he's considering a plan that would cost him $300 per month with a $3,000 deductible and a prescription plan that would go from $10 per prescription to $20. To keep the same plan he has now would cost $650 per month.

Elliott broke his back while on the job, and he continues to suffer chronic nerve damage in his left leg. He said his neurosurgeon considers him permanently disabled. Elliott said he attempted to work a part-time retail job about three years ago, but "the pain became so bad that I couldn't continue."

Retired Wayne County Sheriff's Sgt. Greg Evans said he "blew out" the elbow on his gun hand during an altercation with an inmate in 2001. He hired in at age 20 in 1985 and retired with a duty disability in 2004 and has had three surgeries. He said he tried briefly to work security for the Tigers in 2009, but that it did not work out because of the pain. Loss of strength in his right hand and numbness in his fingers also limit him.

Now, at age 51, Evans said he is contemplating paying $624 per month to keep the same insurance plan he has now. He currently pays about $90 per month. Like Elliott, Evans expects to receive a $100 stipend before taxes.

"This is devastating. It's a game-changer," he said.

Ronald Olszewski, 64, of Livonia, is one of the retirees contemplating a substantial increase in health care costs in coming months, although he does not know how much.

He said he still experiences double vision from an altercation involving an inmate when he was working for the sheriff's office at the jail in 1992. He doesn't completely remember what happened, but he fell down a flight of stairs and had hemorrhaging around his eye. He said he was forced to retire a few years later in 1997.

"I didn't want to retire. That was the big thing," said Olszewski, a former union president and retired sheriff's lieutenant, noting that law enforcement was his chosen profession.

Unknown costs

Despite attending numerous information sessions on the changes and making numerous phone calls, several retirees said they still do not know what their actual out-of-pocket expenses will be just weeks before their current insurance plans end at the end of the month. The stipend program begins on Dec. 1.

The retirees said they expect to pay potentially hundreds of dollars in additional out-of-pocket expenses per month, not counting their deductibles, for comparable coverage. Some said they live on a fixed income and cannot get another job because of their injuries.

But getting another job can also have its costs. The county says retirees who are not eligible for Medicare lose their stipend if they get another job where health insurance is offered.

In addition, "a retiree, spouse or dependent who is not yet eligible for Medicare, will not be eligible for the stipend if they are eligible for other coverage as a primary, spouse or dependent from another source, including Medicaid," according to an e-mail from James Canning, a spokesman for Wayne County Executive Warren Evans.

The Wayne County Executive's Office recently announced that it was imposing health care changes on its appointees, including placing them in insurance plans with higher deductibles, to mirror the cuts that unionized workers took as part of recent collective bargaining agreements.

Administration officials have said those changes demonstrate their commitment to shared sacrifice, a phrase often mocked in recent months by union workers as they dealt with difficult contract negotiations.

Despite the changes, a small group of retirees -- appointees of various elected officials who have lifetime medical benefits -- will continue to receive health care, although at a rate in line with active employees after commission action last week.

The Executive's Office wanted to eliminate the so-called Amann benefits, named for former County Commissioner Bryan Amann. Amann, who served only seven years and 10 months, was the first person to receive the perk. The commission, fearing litigation, left it intact but eliminated the perk going forward in 2011.

Shared sacrifice

Canning said in an e-mail that the stipend program is a necessary change.

"We are grateful for the dedicated years of service Wayne County retirees provided to our citizens and understand their disappointment in the changes to the county's medical plan, but this shared sacrifice was needed to manage Wayne County's financial emergency," Canning said.

"We needed to strike a balance between providing resources for retirees to obtain alternative health care solutions that was fiscally sustainable for the county but that could still provide meaningful support for our retirees. Moving from employer-paid health care to a stipend program has allowed us to achieve that goal."

According to information provided by Canning, "stipends for Medicare-eligible retirees, duty-disabled or normal retirement, are the same amount -- $130 each per Medicare-eligible retiree and/or retiree dependent. If the retiree is pre-Medicare (age), then the amount of the stipend is based on household income and the number of persons in the family being covered, which range from $100 for a single person up to $800 for a family."

However, "pre-Medicare stipends take into account the subsidies provided to individuals under the Affordable Care Act. The lower the income, the higher the federal subsidy they are eligible to receive," according to Canning.

Several retirees, however, pointed out that despite potential subsidies, they will be paying more money for their insurance, and they criticize the stipend program's implementation. Several said that although they expect to receive a stipend, there will be a gap in insurance coverage between when their current plans end at the end of this month and when their new insurance plans actually start early next year.

When asked about such a gap, the county indicated that insurance details are up to the retirees. The county, Canning said, has partnered with a North Carolina-based company, AmWins, to help retirees find a plan that meets their needs.

Canning said 1,600 people attended information sessions it hosted with AmWins last month and AmWins answered at least 5,477 phone calls.

New reality

Not every county retiree who was injured on the job is listed as duty disabled, but all are contemplating the new health care reality.

Arnie Brainard, 63, of Grosse Ile Township, called the health care transition a "royal mess," saying it's been tough to get complete answers to benefit questions.

He retired in 2004 after more than 34 years with the county, working in various capacities, including patching roads, carpentry and managing staff. His last position was as manager of buildings and yards, where he said he was on 24-hour call.

Brainard took a straight retirement with a $95,000 per year pension and said he did not think to check into duty disability.

Brainard indicated the insurance plan he selected will cost him $148 per month after using the stipend, and that cost will increase approximately $14 per month in January.

The back injury that continues to cause him grief happened while he was working at Metro Airport in the 1970s. Brainard said he felt something "pop" in his back while lifting a 200-pound piece of metal in a storm drain during the spring melt. He dealt with the pain for a while but eventually required numerous surgeries and he struggles with common tasks today.

"I can hardly walk any more. I've got to have somebody clean the house. I spend most of my time (lying) on my back because I'm in so much pain," Brainard said. "I was a hard worker and dedicated employee and never gave anybody any trouble at all. ... Now I'm retired and I've got all these frickin' problems."

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.

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