More than 2,000 Hartford Healthcare retirees will see major changes to the Medicare supplement plans that they received starting at retirement.
The company has held meeting regarding a phase-in of a new system of options, called OneExchange, which will replace the old plans.
Hartford Healthcare expects to save about $20 million with the switch.
“We’re honoring our commitment and we’re continuing to provide access to a Medicare supplement" said Theresa Buss, a Vice President of Human Resources at Hartford Healthcare. "We’re actually giving them a better option and better choices than they’ve had in the past."
Ed Novotasky worked for Hartford Healthcare in the HR department for 16 years. When he retired he was guaranteed a employer contribution of 55% toward his Medicare supplement. Now he feels as though the company is backing out of a contract.
“Oh definitely. When you sit down and you tell the employees that this is what your medical insurance will cost based on your years of service and then all of sudden they pull the rug out from underneath you, I definitely feel that there’s a level of mistrust there.”
Novotasky said he attended one of the meetings where the new OneExchange system was discussed. He says he still hasn't seen any plan options or possible prices which is frustrating to him.
Buss with Hartford Healthcare says about 90% of retirees who will choose plans on OneExchange will qualify and likely purchase plans that will be the same price or cheaper than the current plan.
“We in the HR world, we focus on the employee benefits, so the retiree medical, it’s not what we do for a living, so to have somebody at OneExchange who knows this in and out I feel very confident that our retirees will be able to make the decisions that are right for them in their individual circumstances.”
Novotasky doesn't buy that sales pitch.
“It’s illogical to say it’s going to benefit me when they’re taking a 55% contribution away. It simply doesn’t make sense”
Retirees will be able to enroll for new plans with OneExchange starting in mid-October and that will run until the end of the year.
