By The Independent
Members of the UC Livermore Lab Retiree Group
are ÒoverwhelminglyÓ in favor of taking legal action to try to restore
membership in University of California health programs. The groupÕs leadership
is calling for donations to make action possible.
The call for contributions follows a decision
by John Garamendi, the newly elected congressman for the Livermore area, not to
set up an investigating committee to help the retirees obtain more information
about how the retirees came to be removed from benefits.
Disappointed in GaramendiÕs decision, Retiree
Group founder Joe Requa said the goal now is to create a legal fund of
$150,000, which would enable the group to cover costs of filing a suit and
pursuing documents necessary to make the groupÕs case. Meantime, the group is
taking steps to become a non-profit organization.
ÒFor those who offered additional funds, it is time
to send them in,Ó he wrote in an email. ÒFor those of you who have not yet
contributed, I encourage you to do so.Ó He cautioned that people should not
contribute funds that they cannot afford to lose, but also expressed his belief
that the legal case is sound if resources grow to the point where it can be
prosecuted.
ÒThe likelihood of our losing for lack of funds is
probably greater than losing because of a poor case,Ó he wrote.
Lawrence Livermore Lab employees and retirees were
part of the UC group health coverage under a succession of contracts that
lasted more than 50 years but ended in 2008, when a new contractor took over
Laboratory management from University of California. At the time, the new
contract promised continued benefits that were Òsubstantially equivalentÓ to
UCÕs group plans. However, the contract wording was changed a year later under
circumstances that have never been explained to retirees.
In contrast to the unified UC program, administered
by a UC benefits group that took an interest in the welfare of retirees, many
see the new health arrangements as an uncoordinated patchwork of plans that
abandon individual retirees to fend for themselves in a complex and uncaring
system.
Retirees share painful stories about elderly former
colleagues or their spouses, retired in a group home in some distant part of
the country, who have seen their medical coverage dropped or who have become
hopelessly confused by the complex changes that have come about since the
Laboratory was taken over by a for-profit contractor.
Even the 2010 Kaiser option, a group plan that has
been chosen by several thousand Lab retirees for its simplicity and
reliability, has become more complex and unreliable with the introduction of a
balky health reimbursement arrangement administered by Bank of America. Many
retirees who followed written directions from the bank have seen routine
expenses refused or take hours to obtain approval.
Requa made note of the new Kaiser challenges, which
began on January 1. He suggested that retirees pay their bills and then request
reimbursement rather than try to use the so-called debit cards issued by Bank
of America. The Òcard provided is not a debit card as promised,Ó he said. It
Òcannot be used to make automatic payments for monthly costs of coverage or
Medicare Part B. The documentation from both Hewitt (the health program
administrator) and Bank of America is at best inaccurate and misleading.Ó
The Retiree Group sees its move toward legal action
as a last resort. They had hoped that, with GaramendiÕs help, they could obtain
documents showing how the decision was made to drop retirees from the
UniversityÕs health programs. ÒNow that John Garamendi has taken a seat in the
house, he has backed off on his commitment to support us,Ó said Requa. ÒSince
UCÕs general council has refused to deal with us, we are left with legal action
as a last resort.Ó
He said the Retiree Group will now Òask (its
lawyers) for a contract and a cost estimate to prepare a suit.Ó The time and
cost of this step should be relatively predictable, but uncertainties grow
after that. ÒAt that point, we will need to reevaluate our finances and
likelihood of success and decide whether to continue.Ó
The Retiree GroupÕs website, with more information and instructions on contributing, is http://llnlretiree.com