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October 20, 2003GT County decides to eliminate retiree insuranceFormer workers must pay costs nowByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Scores of retired Grand Traverse County workers are facing hundreds of dollars in extra monthly health care costs, thanks to the county board. The county notified more than 60 former employees that commissioners are eliminating a supplemental insurance program that's been in place for retirees for more than 20 years. The benefit is a supplement or "wrap" program that fills in the gaps in Medicare coverage once retirees reach age 65. Up to now, the county had fully paid the cost of that supplemental coverage. Now the $300-plus monthly coverage costs will be shifted to retirees. "It's a real blow to any retiree on a fixed income," said Jean Davis, who is 72 and has received the coverage for several years. She retired from the county Register of Deeds office 10 years ago. "This is really going to cut into everyone's budget," Davis said. "It's certainly not something I was expecting." Commissioners decided to eliminate the insurance rider, effective April 1, among steps to trim more than $3 million from next year's $33 million general fund budget. The cost to the county for the supplemental coverage has soared in recent years, county officials said. Human resources director Marilyn Brown said that while the monthly cost to the county amounted to less than $25 a month per person several years ago, those costs have skyrocketed to some $325 a month projected for next year. "(The cost) is pretty much the same as having a full-time employee," Brown said. The county's expense for the benefit currently exceeds $220,000 per year. The change will not affect a handful of unionized county retirees whose "wrap" insurance is included in their collective bargaining agreements. Former employees affected by the change are meeting tonight and plan to attend Tuesday's meeting of the board's ways and means committee to ask commissioners to reconsider. "It was something that I was counting on," said Marge Kalena of Traverse City. She's retired from the county's Veterans Affairs office and would've been eligible for the supplemental coverage in less than two years. "It's something they promised," Kalena added. "You pretty much budget out (expenses) when you retire, and now you've got to come up with all this extra money." County officials said they sympathize but noted the benefit cut was among several cost-cutting measures taken by the board, including the elimination of more than 15 county positions. "There were a lot of tough decisions to make," county board chairman Peter Strom said. "It wasn't done to jeopardize or penalize (the retirees)." But employees say the board should have looked elsewhere to trim the budget. "There's a lot of money that should be cut before it's taken away from the retirees," Kalena said.
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