GM Agrees To Pay Retiree Health Care
The Detroit News reports that General Motors Co. "has agreed to pay another $50 million to fund health benefits to nearly 50,000 hourly retirees and dependents at Delphi Corp. who were represented by the IUE-CWA and other smaller unions. ... GM also agreed to a number of other concessions in the deal announced Tuesday.""Under the agreement reported by the union, retirees under age 65 who are covered by GM insurance will be offered an improved package with an extra $50 million in payments from the automaker to defray the cost of the high-deductible coverage originally offered. It wasn't immediately clear what the additional money will mean for premiums. The deal reportedly will allow GM to end coverage for Medicaid-eligible retirees. The IUE-CWA said the deal includes a 'top-up' from GM for Delphi retirees, whose pensions were terminated and being assumed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., a federal corporation that protects the pensions of American workers. IUE-CWA said some former Delphi workers stood to lose half of their income without this agreement. ... About 6,200 United Steelworkers and dependents and 41,000 IUE-CWA retirees are covered by the action. The unions had warned the retirees would lose, in total, about $3.5 billion in benefits" (Shepardson, 9/1). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.