Detroit Scraps Benefits for City Pensioners, Puts Them into ACA Exchange (Obamacare retirement)

As bankruptcy hearings continue in Detroit to determine the legality of the city’s historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing in July, state workers are hoping to get some clarity on the future of their pension benefits.

While bankruptcy and union lawyers continue to battle it out, the city has already announced significant changes to its retiree health benefits program. Effective Jan.1, retired city workers under age 65 will no longer receive full coverage from the state and will instead receive a $125 stipend to shop in Michigan’s health-care exchange under the newly-rolled out Affordable Care Act.

Retired city workers already eligible for Medicare will continue to have “most or all” of their costs covered by the city, according to The Detroit Free Press . At $6 billion, health-care benefits for retired city workers are nearly one-third of the city’s total $18 billion in liabilities. The Detroit Free Press also reports the city estimates these cuts will reduce coverage costs for retirees to $50 million or less from $170 million.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates the average American will pay $328 per month for a premium health insurance plan on the exchanges before any subsidies. HHS reports the weighted average premiums in Michigan for a lowest cost silver plan are $271, $306 for the second-lowest cost silver plan and $222 for the lowest-cost bronze plan. The retired workers receiving the $125 monthly stipend in place of full benefits could still be eligible for subsidies under the ACA, for those making up to 400% of the federal poverty level—about $45,000 for an individual, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

I worked for nearly 20 years in local government, trying to dismantle bureaucratic departments. I got nearly zero help by conservatives in my community. These people were more interested in barbecuing ribs, watching sports and refinishing kitchens than attending a village council meeting. And then they wonder why commies teach in their schools and their property taxes are sky-high.

I seriously believe that conservatives will not get off their fat butts until a jackboot is on their throats. Conservatives are more interested in worshipping mammon than securing liberty for their children.

Here is a reminder of the “Thank you note” from Lt. Gov with regards to the help in getting the exchange passed:

Dear Friends,

There are times when any family has disagreements. I have always been a principled conservative voice inside the administration, but when the Governor makes a decision I will support and help implement that decision.

Unfortunately, Obamacare is currently the law of the land and states have to decide how to make the best of it for working families and taxpayers. Conservative Governors such as Jan Brewer in Arizona, John Kasich in Ohio, and Rick Scott in Florida are all taking a similar approach to what we have here in Michigan - only our state added key personal responsibility reforms.

Although I understand the arguments that some people are making on the other side of this issue, the fact remains that there is a strong conservative argument for Medicaid Reform. By passing the Healthy Michigan plan, we will save hundreds of thousands of our friends and neighbors from being forced into the Obamacare exchanges, and it does so at a much smaller cost to the taxpayers.

I am very proud of our record of accomplishment in the last three years. We passed conservative budgets in record time, reduced debt, reformed the tax code, and have made the tough decisions to clean up the city of Detroit. Most importantly, we took on the liberal labor unions and won a major victory for hardworking taxpayers. Michigan is now a Right to Work state. Who would have thought that was possible just a few short years ago?

So although we as a family will have disagreements from time to time, I encourage people to remember that blood is thicker than water and we stand together fighting for our principles – lower spending, less taxes, less government regulation and interference, and a free market economy that can create jobs. Ultimately, we all need to decide whether we stick together through thick and thin, or whether we risk turning back to the failed policies of the past.

I am an unabashed, passionate Conservative, a team player, and I support our Republican family. I know you do too.

Much remains to be done, but thank you for all you are doing to help us move our State forward from the failed policies of the previous decade. I look forward to working with you to keep the Michigan Comeback alive.

Sincerely,

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley

And my response:

Please remove me from your distribution list. I don’t need to hear from quisling GOPe members that have no sense of history. Your argument is the same that was made nearly 50 years ago and look where that got us. Instead of realizing history, you prefer to “build upon” the collectivism that will enslave my grandchildren.

I will fight, you can concede. Just stay out of our way.

“When Medicare launched, nobody had any clue whether it would work”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/17/when-medicare-launched-nobody-had-any-clue-whether-it-would-work/

-snip-

Medicare is, these days, an incredibly popular program. Americans overwhelmingly oppose cutting it. No politician would consider repealing it. Most think providing health insurance to all Americans over 65 is worth the both the trouble and the cost.

This was not always true. Back in 1966, as Medicare was just about to launch, nobody knew whether the new program would provide benefits to millions or fail completely. Sound familiar?

-snip-

Like the Affordable Care Act, the fight over Medicare was contentious. President John F. Kennedy had tried to extend health benefits to the elderly and failed.

The American Medical Association vehemently opposed the law. Two months before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law, the American Medical Association ran ads across the country denouncing the program as “the beginning of socialized medicine.”

-snip-

The federal government launched “Project Medicare Alert,” a program that hired 5,000 workers to enroll seniors in Medicare. The “$2 million crash effort,” as described by The Post, was meant to “inform isolated elderly Americans of the availability of Medicare benefits.” Workers, hired for a 20-week stint, were paid $1.25 per hour.

-end snip-

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