Health premiums rising for stunned city of Miami retirees

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Thu, Nov. 13, 2003

MIAMI
Health premiums rising for stunned city of Miami retirees
The city of Miami is cutting its healthcare contributions for 1,200 city retirees to save $3 million a year, and a protest is set for today at City Hall.
By CAROLYN SALAZAR
[e-mail]


Robert Spinola spent 25 years working as a mechanic for the city of Miami -- believing he was securing a pension check and health insurance for the rest of his life.

But now, as his wife lies dying in a hospital bed, as his nest egg is nearly depleted, the 82-year-old man has learned that the security he has always counted on is in danger of being taken away.

Seeking to cut costs, the city is slashing its healthcare contributions for 1,200 retirees on its healthcare plan. For Spinola, that means the cost of health insurance will jump from $420 a month to $1,088 for him and his wife. (snip)

(snip) ''We cannot afford to keep paying for their healthcare,'' Arriola said. ``The city of Coral Gables doesn't do it, the city of Fort Lauderdale doesn't do it, the state of Florida doesn't do it. Why should the city of Miami pay? These retirees cannot be on my payroll for the rest of their lives.'' (snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/7247994.htm

[Media_Lies_Daily]

1. Ah...the true meaning of the phrase "compassionate conservatism"...

..."they'll be dead soon...f___'em".

[Bandit]

2. Happy with your Republican officials now?

America how little you know.

[Malva Zebrina]

3. Put em out on the ice

this is how Hitler dealt with the elderly who were sick and burdensome. German poster --pre WW II





In this illustration, the Nazis demonstrated that the daily cost to the state of maintaining one chronically ill person (5.5 marks) could be better spent supporting an entire healthy German family.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

4. This disgusts me...

"We cannot afford to keep paying for their healthcare,'' Arriola said. "The city of Coral Gables doesn't do it, the city of Fort Lauderdale doesn't do it, the state of Florida doesn't do it. Why should the city of Miami pay? These retirees cannot be on my payroll for the rest of their lives."

It's one thing to stop offering benefits to new employees (it's still shitty) but to blow off folks who were made promised and worked to fulfill their end of the deal is reprehensible beyond belief.

Yup, it's time we just pop those old folks on an ice flow and send them off to sea.

[Lars39]

5. Did you catch that phrase, " cannot be on MY payroll..."

So that means she can personally be sued, right? This is genocide.