Shirlee Zerkel explains the 2010 health program for retirees

From Shirlee Zerkel, June 28, 2009
Subject: Health Program for STRS retirees for 2010 as I see it!

Dear all,

I have taken this information from the June Health Care Report to the Board and from the STRS Website.

If you are under 65, these are your choices for 2010:
...1. Medical Mutual Plus or
...2. Medical Mutual Basic or
...3. If you live in (or near, in some cases) Cleveland, Canton or Toledo, you have Kaiser, Paramount, AultCare.

All of you will have Express Scripts with a yearly deductible for medications of $150.

If you are 65 and have only Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B or live outside the United States, or have a family member that is not 65 yet:
...1. Medical Mutual Plus or
...2. Medical Mutual Basic or
...3. The regional plans if you live in (or near) Cleveland, Canton or Toledo

All of you will have Express Scripts with a yearly deductible for medications of $150.

Now for those of us who are 65 or over and have both Medicare A and B
...1. Will automatically be put into Aetna Medicare Advantage Program (with an out of pocket cost of $1500, which includes the deductible).
...2. Unless we tell STRS we want to be put in the Medical Mutual Basic Plan (with a $1500 deductible).
...3. Or the regional providers like AultCare, Kaiser, and Paramount.

We will have Express Scripts with a yearly deductible for medication of $150.

Charts for all levels of service years are available on the website www.strsoh.org. Look in the center for the June Board meeting report and click on the word 'more' the charts should come up. If you have trouble, email me and can send you the premium for whatever year you want.

I believe that NO Retiree should have to endure what is happening to us, and now they want our COLA too! It is just too much! The only cuts I see for staff is a wage freeze and head count freeze for the majority of the staff. I personally feel that the staff of STRS should experience the same cuts as we do in health care! No raises or bonuses either for ANY of the staff until total funds are at least 80 billion!

My view on the above information is that they have thrown away the retirees who cost them the least in medical costs. I have the Plus Plan this year with only a $500 deductible and I still have not met that amount so STRS has paid no medical expenses for me. Medicare and I have paid to this point and we are in the 7th month of the year. I also use the $4 generic from the local pharm. The Advantage plan sounds great and will be for the first year. This Medicare Advantage Plan is purchased by STRS for us. It is not a self insured plan. So in the light of that fact, the private company (Aetna) can do what they want about our coverage and we have nowhere to go to complain because we no longer have the traditional Medicare for appeals and we can not get help from STRS because we have been sold out!

I see some interesting things here. STRS is retaining the Express Scripts Medicare Plan so they can retain the around 33 million subsidy from the government. These companies that handle Medicare Advantage Programs get subsidies from the government, so is it possible that STRS is getting a subsidy in some way for selling our health care to Aetna.

Shirlee Zerkel
Retiree since 2002