3M Co. will drop retirees from health plans, steer to Medicare

Bizjournals.com ^ | 10/4/2010 | Sam Black

[John S Mosby]

Government is just like microsoft. They develop a (software) road to help people. The road is a dirt road. Then they begin to pave it with clumps of asphalt where there are holes. Patch Patch Patch. Eventually you have a really lousy asphalt road made up of patches and govt. calls that progressive.

[SouthDixie]

[bert]

#M is playing catch up with many other wise corporations who revised their retiree coverage in the last few years.

I thought I heard that current 3M employees would lose company coverage beginning in 2015 and would need to purchase insurance from the exchange.

[ELS]

"The key operative words from Obama here are: "if you have your plan... "

or "... the government is not going to make you change plans under health reform."

It will "make" employers change your health plan under health reform.

[Wiggins]

Well I have to tell you that similar things like what suggested have happened in the United Kingdom forcing the country to import less skilled or educated doctors from Muslim countries who are willing to work for less and bringing with them inadequate care. The left wants to destroy every facet of America's greatness and they will stop at nothing.

[caver]

It was done a number of years ago at the large corporation where I work. And this was way before Obamacare.

[Ancient Drive]

roflol@Obama = Jackass!

[bill1952]

Those doctors are already here - My gatekeeper is an Indian whose English is poor and he has different ideas about what his job is here.

[Wiggins]

That’s scary. Trying to tell your doctor who speaks poor English what ails you and your doctor not knowing what his or her job is. Yikes. I had a friend who broke his arm in the U.K. and took an early flight back to the USA to have it treated because their doctors were so bad.I think he said the U.K. doctor was a Paki.

[redgolum]

Most big companies want the government to take over health care. In the long run, it would be cheaper for them (more expensive for the public).

Many here don’t seem to realize that.

[redgolum]

John Deere cut the retired insurance a year or so back, and have cut back on the current workers medical insurance.

Companies just can’t afford it. When those policies were put in place 30-50 years ago, people didn’t live as long, and end of life costs were much less. There are not enough workers, or profits, to keep paying 20 years of a non workers health insurance.

[Mouton]

And that is what Medicare was designed to fix. Now it is universal health coverage for all paid by all. There are any number of reasons the new system is completely unsustainable.

For those firms that paid 100% of their employees health insurance, I agree with you. For those that require their employees pay say half of them, including retirees, I think that system works is in the out years, after 65, their current insurance becomes secondary to medicare. Otherwise, as you say, it is impossible for it to work given life expectancies.

[patriotspride]

Another perspective on the topic.

Motley fools take:

http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2010/10/06/3m-retires-from-insuring-its-retirees.aspx