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"...even the wicked get worse than they deserve." - Willa Cather, One of Ours

Friday, April 23, 2004

Hello President John Kerry!

New York Times
Bush Administration: Companies Can Cut or End Benefits for Medicare-Eligible Retirees

Bush just lost Florida today and probably the election.

Thursday’s decision by the GOP dominated Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that employers should be free to eliminate private benefits for retirees on a pension above the age of 65, spells a political disaster for Bush. Supposedly intended to protect the health care benefits of a small group of retirees younger than 65, it allows companies to cancel the private heath care benefits of retirees who are eligible for Medicare, who are the vast majority.

A recent federal court decision stated that companies must provide the same heath care coverage for all retirees, regardless of their age. The court insisted that to have different health care coverage for retires based on their age is discriminatory under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967. The new EEOC rule will overturn that court decision and create an explicit exemption to the ADEA. The EEOC says that discrimination of retirees based on age will not be enforced.

The EEOC is supposed to enforce anti-discrimination laws, not manage the national heath care system. In order to protect Republican lawmakers and the Bush administration from having to face up to the current and future health care crisis, the EEOC violated its mandate to protect citizens from discriminatory conduct.

There is no rational way to spin this. It appears as if the Bush administration is telling retirees older than 65 that it is OK if they lose their pension-based heath care coverage, and that they should directly pay for any health care costs that are not covered by Medicare.

This is without a doubt the stupidest political move I have ever seen in my entire 39 years.

Remind me, which state is it that has all those older retirees? Was it the only state that Bush absolutely must win in November? Was it per chance, Florida?

Florida is gone, Mr. Bush.

Hello President Kerry.


ORIGINAL ITEM: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/23/politics/23RETI.html
Posted by: Zayphar / 4/23/2004 09:19:00 PM
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