Case New Holland retirees losing healthcare benefits
A former Case New Holland employee says he and his wife must seek new health insurance because they will lose all their company benefits after August 31st. The US Supreme Court ruled that CNH will no longer provide free medical benefits to retirees.
When Thomas Jacobson retired from Case New Holland, he thought he and his wife would have health benefits for the rest of their lives. Therefore, he was shocked when a couple of months ago he received a package in the mail, which said that this would not happen again.
“None of the previous ones gave us a hint that they were going to cancel. Just a month or so ago, when everyone got this thing in the mail, ”Jacobson said.
On February 20, the US Supreme Court ruled that CNH retirees will no longer receive any financial benefits. Instead, they will either have to take out new insurance or accept and pay for the benefits the company is currently offering. Jacobson says he and the rest of the retirees didn’t expect this.
“They pulled the rug out from under them, that is, kicked under the bus. They have no options other than very expensive ones, ”Jacobson said.
Jacobson says he and his wife are currently protected until August 31st. He says he has Medicare and as a veteran he will receive VA assistance, but his wife is not yet eligible for Medicare and they cannot afford to choose the company option.
“If we accept this plan plus dentistry and vision. It will cost us $ 378 a month. We are just a middle-income family and the monthly payments out of our pockets will do a lot of damage, ”Jacobson said.
Jacobson has worked for the company for almost 39 years, but the security he once felt is no longer there.
“I hate to cry that now I have to start paying health insurance premiums, like many other people, but for 56 years I have not had to. I was covered for life, ”Jacobson said.
TV6 reached out to CNH, this is what they said:
This is a statement from Brian French, Vice President of Human Resources for North America at CNH Industrial:
