|
ALERT
October 5, 2010
Dear GM Retiree,
After in-depth research of the statutes and
regulations associated with the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (HR3590) and meetings and discussions with
Congressional representatives, the NRLN has determined retirees
have been “carved out” from a number of provisions of the Act.
The NRLN is initiating a major effort to
reverse the retiree exclusions. You will be hearing directly
from NRLN asking for your support in writing to your
Congressional representatives and participating in meetings. We
strongly urge you to get involved to reverse the rulings.
The following letter from NRLN to Kathleen
Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, dated Oct. 4,
will give you a better understanding of the significance of this
issue and what it will mean to you as a retiree. Be sure to see
the chart at the end of the letter listing the “carve outs” that
have been identified.
# # #
The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Sebelius:
I am writing to you after reading the October
2nd Associated Press article about your speech to a gathering of
AARP members to shore up support among seniors for the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). As you told the
audience about the good things in the health care reform law for
retirees, I doubt that you told them that the Administration,
led by your Department, has issued Interim Final Regulations
that exclude retirees – and only retirees, including early
retirees – from all of the consumer and patient protections
under Titles A and C of the PPACA. The AARP apparently didn't
tell its members either, during the Q&A that followed your
speech, that the Obama Administration has chosen to deny many
older Americans the protections of the PPACA by excluding
retiree-only group plans from the Act’s coverage – an
interpretation that was clearly not intended by Congress nor
supported by the statutory language.
Now many of our more than 2 million members
of the National Retiree Legislative Network are being told by
their former employers that anticipated provisions of the Act
will not apply to retiree-only health care plans as offered by
their former employers. Attached is an NRLN researched list of
the PPACA benefits that the Obama Administration is refusing to
apply to salaried and non-union occupational retirees unless a
company-sponsored health care plan voluntarily includes them.
It appears that during the rulemaking process HHS was lobbied by
companies for a carve-out for non-represented retiree health
plans. This, in combination with ERISA language that clearly
conflicts with the legislative intent of the PPACA, has denied
early retirees and others in retiree-only plans the right to
PPACA protections that were afforded all other Americans in
group plans. The rules implemented by HHS and various other
agencies and the preceding process may have been public to some
degree, but they are indecipherable to the average citizen who
thought the Act’s requirements were sufficiently clear.
Tens of thousands of NRLN auto industry salaried retirees are
particularly enraged. This has the makings of another
Delphi-like calamity demonstrating the Obama Administration’s
disregard for salaried retirees and non-union occupational
retirees covered by retiree-only plans but, even worse, this
event affects retirees from many other industries across the
country. This is another in a series of slaps in the face to
non-union retirees who represent a large and growing segment of
voting baby-boomers.
Furthermore, it is an example of how middle-class American
retirees on fixed incomes are considered "legacy costs" by
corporations who have broken promises to retirees while their
government, which has lost its moral compass, has done nothing
to protect the benefits that retirees earned through decades of
their labor and dedication.
Members of Congress and the Administration have been boldly
claiming the credit for the Act's benefits for seniors while at
the same time companies are telling retirees they are not
eligible for many of the benefits. Why have non-represented
retirees in retiree-only group plans been targeted for exclusion
from beneficial provisions of the new health care reform law?
Based on the discussions that we have had with staff members of
Congressional leaders, it was not Congress’ intent to create a
new class of have-nots among America’s non-union retirees.
Instead, we were told the House bill was intended to apply
equally to all health care plans. HHS should take the lead to
set right the situation since members of Congress have gone home
to campaign for the November election. America’s retirees do not
deserve to be treated this way by their government. If the NRLN
can be of assistance for rectifying this grave disservice to
many retirees, please contact Marta Bascom, the NRNL’s Executive
Director, at 703-863-9611 or at
marta.bascom@linkspace.net.
Sincerely,
Bill Kadereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network
Copy to:
President Barack Obama
Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor
Phyllis Borzi, Assistant Secretary of Labor
Richard L. Trumka, President AFL-CIO
Barry Rand, CEO of AARP
NRLN 10/1/2010 Review of H.R. 3590
Protections
| |
|
Group Plans |
Retiree-Only Plans |
| |
|
Grandfathered* Or Not |
Salaried & Non-Union |
|
# |
`9/23/2010 Protections |
|
|
|
2704 |
Prohibition of
preexisting condition exclusion or other discrimination
based on health status |
YES - APPLIES |
DOES NOT APPLY |
|
2708 |
Prohibition on excessive
waiting periods |
YES - APPLIES
|
DOES NOT APPLY |
|
2711 |
No lifetime or annual
limits |
YES - APPLIES |
DOES NOT APPLY |
|
2712 |
Prohibition on
rescissions - can't drop coverage for high claims or health
conditions |
YES - APPLIES
|
DOES NOT APPLY |
|
2714 |
Extension of dependent
coverage until age 26 |
YES - APPLIES
|
DOES NOT APPLY |
|
2715 |
Development and
utilization of uniform explanation of coverage documents and
standardized definitions |
YES - APPLIES
|
DOES NOT APPLY |
|
2718 |
Bringing down cost of
health care coverage (for insured coverage) |
YES - APPLIES
|
DOES NOT APPLY |
*
Grandfathered plans are those that were in effect on 3/23/2010.
Grandfathered plans escape other H.R. 3590—Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)—mandates. However, a Group
health plan or health insurance coverage no longer will be
considered a Grandfathered health plan if a plan sponsor or an
issuer eliminates or substantially reduces benefits as
stipulated on page 35457 of Federal Register /Vol. 75, No. 116
/Thursday, June 17, 2010 /Rules and Regulations.
NRLN retiree members under age 65 who are in
Retiree-Only plans and who will lose the benefit of PPACA
protections and mandates: Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, General Motors,
Chrysler, Detroit Edison, John Deere, Kodak, Qwest,.... not all
have reported. Retiree Associations have advised that many
company officials will make anonymous verbal representations
only. We believe this omission by Congress will affect over
250,000 among just these larger Retiree Associations and well
over 400,000 overall among the 30 Retiree Associations that are
members of the NRLN. We have no efficient way to assess the
impact on retirees from all 125 companies that NRLN members have
retired from but speculate the total could reach 750,000.
Companies are withholding their declarations regarding whether
or not they will seek employee group status for retirees in some
cases and as of 10/1/2010 some companies have not advised
retirees of their status and may not have advised current
employees either.
|
