Bush Breaks Heath Care Promise For Retirees

Commission to Allow Insurance Cuts for Retired Employees

In a move that will likely "create anxiety for many of the 12 million Medicare beneficiaries who also receive health benefits from their former employers," the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted yesterday to "allow employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare at age 65.

" This comes on the heels of a year which saw "10 percent of firms eliminating coverage for future retirees and 71 percent increasing retirees' contributions for their coverage." Although President Bush claimed that no Medicare bill signed by him would lead corporations "to what they call dump retirees," the bill he did sign allows corporations to do just that. The AARP, which represents millions of Americans over 50 and has been a prominent supporter of the Medicare bill signed by the president, has "strenuously objected" to the EEOC measure, which "creates an explicit exemption to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967."

- Progress Report

"About half of all companies halt medical coverage when retirees reach age 65. Most that continue coverage beyond age 65 provide only supplemental, or secondary coverage behind Medicare. Darling said that trend began in the late `80s and continues today because of rising medical and prescription drug costs.