The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“INTRODUCTION OF BROKEN PROMISES RETIREE HEALTH LEGISLATION” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E116 on Feb. 10, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF BROKEN PROMISES RETIREE HEALTH LEGISLATION
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HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA
of wisconsin
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 10, 2000
Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Broken Promises Retiree Health Act. This legislation would help retirees obtain health insurance if their coverage is canceled and would ensure that retirees are given fair warning before their employers terminate their health coverage.
The need for this legislation is clear. Far too many companies are breaking their promises to retired workers by eliminating retiree health benefits. A recent report by Mercer/Foster-Higgins found that in 1999, only 35 percent of large employers offered health benefits to their early retirees. This is a decline of six percent in the past five years alone. As a result, thousands of retirees have been stranded without health care--health care they were promised, and health care they earned through their long years of service.
This national trend hit home in my district on August 5, 1996 when the Pabst Brewing Company announced that they were eliminating the health benefits plans for almost 750 retirees and their families.
Seniors in my district and throughout the country rely on their employers' commitment to provide health insurance in their golden years. When a company revokes that coverage, many older Americans are trapped in the limbo between employee health benefits and Medicare coverage. Retirees should not be faced with the vulnerability of being uninsured when irresponsible employers break their promise to provide retiree health coverage.
The legislation I am introducing today would establish a critical safety-net for these retirees. Through this bill, retirees who were over the age of 55 when their health benefits were terminated can choose between two new health coverage options. First, for a monthly premium of approximately $400 per month, retirees would be allowed to buy into the Medicare program. Or, if the employer is continuing to offer health benefits to its current employees, retirees could choose to buy the same health coverage for themselves and their families that the company offers current employees. Both options ensure that health coverage would be available to retirees until they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.
In addition, this legislation would require employers to give 6 months notice to retirees of any reduction in their health benefits and would also require the Labor Department to certify that these changes meet the requirements of the collective bargaining agreement.
Legislation cannot heal the pain of employer betrayal after a lifetime of service, but it can renew the promise of retiree health coverage.
Mr. Speaker, we must act now. I ask my colleagues to show their support for retired workers and their families by cosponsoring this bill.
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