Like the rest of us, retired police and firefighters are getting ready for the holidays and many are volunteering their time. The last thing they thought about was losing their health insurance.
The Police and Fire Pension Fund is eliminating its health insurance coverage for retired first responders. Instead, retirees who are not old enough to qualify for Medicare will be given a monthly stipend of about $1,100 to help pay for insurance on the private market. It's less than half of what family coverage will cost.
But first, they have to go through a complicated sign-up process and the deadline is midnight this Saturday.
The stipend is managed through a company called Aon.
"This was a deal that our members weren't happy with to begin with," says Doug Stern of the Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters. "But the customer service that Aon has provided us has been sub-par and unacceptable."
Limited coverage that restricts doctor and hospital choices and will likely cost them more.
"We did the best we could to analyze the market and set that stipend level at a level that would satisfy those costs to where they were before," explains John Gallagher, Executive Director of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund
Health coverage in greater Cleveland is better than most of the state, but some counties have no access to doctors.
According to Gallagher, there was little choice for the board of the Pension Fund. "Our healthcare trust was facing depletion in less than ten years and we had to take some drastic actions," he explained.
Gallagher blames the uncertainty surrounding Affordable Care Act and adds that the pension board must stay solvent.
Stern stays they'll form a task force in 2019 to find better solutions, but members must sign up by midnight Saturday to at least get coverage through next year.
"We're gonna look at healthcare top to bottom," Stern says. "From funding sources, to the way it's provided, to customer service to make sure our firefighters have the level of health insurance that they worked their entire lives serving the public to have."
Those police and firefighters who get their insurance through the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund must sign up now through the website. They have extended hours for calls and questions and also have added Saturday appointments to help.
Call 844-290-3674 for questions and guidance, but expect to spend a lot of time on the phone.